Brevet  Brigadier-General,  U.  S.  V. 


THE   STORY 


OF 


COMPANY  A 


TWENTY-FIFTH  REGIMENT,  MASS.  VOLS. 


IN  THE 


WAR  OF  THE  REBELLION. 


BY  SAMUEL  H.  PUTNAM. 


WORCESTER,    MASS.: 

PUTNAM,  DAVIS  AND  COMPANY,  PUBLISHERS. 
1886. 


E 


5 


ONE  HUNDRED  AND  SEVENTY-FIVE  COPIES  PRINTED  : 
SIX  COPIES  ON  LARGE  PAPER  WITH  AUTOGRAPH  SIGNATURES. 


COPYRIGHT,  1886, 

By  S.  H.  Putnam. 


WOBCE8TEB:  PBIVATE  PBE8S  OK  FBANKLIN  P.  RN'E. 


TO  THE  MEMORY 

OF 

29eatr  of  (ftompan 

I  DEDICATE 
THIS  SIMPLE  STORY. 


M198519 


Preface. 


'""pHIS  STORY  is  written  from  the  standpoint  of  a  private  soldier, 
for  soldiers — the  surviving  members  of  Company  A.  It  is  an 
attempt  to  give,  somewhat  in  detail,  the  everyday  life  of  soldiers 
in  active  service  and  under  canvas  walls,  with  incidents  of  camp, 
march,  and  bivouac.  The  "Story"  may  possess  but  little  merit, 
yet  it  may  please  the  "Boys"  for  whom  it  was  written. 

No  march  is  described  in  which  the  writer  did  not  participate, 
no  battle  in  which  he  did  not  take  a  hand,  in  his  humble  position ; 
and  it  is  claimed  that  the  story  is  a  true  one.  The  language  is 
sometimes  rough,  but  it  should  be  remembered  that  it  was  a  rough 
life  we  were  leading.  If  an  occasional  strong  expression  is  found 
in  these  pages  I  can  only  say  that  "our  army  swore  terribly  in 
Flanders"  ;  and  I  have  tried  to  describe  the  soldier  as  I  saw  him 
— as  I  knew  him. 

I  am  indebted  to  my  friend,  Franklin  P.  Rice,  for  the  elegant 
typographical  appearance  of  the  book.  It  is  issued  from  his  private 
press,  and  is  entirely  the  work  of  his  own  hands.  Thanks  are  due 


Preface. 

W.  P.  Derby,  Esq.,  author  of  the  History  of  the  Twenty-seventh 
(Mass.)  Regiment,  for  the  use  of  the  maps  contained  in  this  vol- 
ume. The  fine  portrait  of  our  Captain  is  from  a  photograph  by 
Black  of  Boston,  taken  in  1863. 

SAMUEL  H.  PUTNAM. 

Worcester,  Mass. 

1 8th  Annual  Reunion  of  Co.  A., 

June  3d,  1886. 


Contents. 


CHAPTER  I.     FORMATION.  Pages  7  to  22. 

CHAPPER  II.     AT  CAMP  LINCOLN.  Pages  23  to  35. 

CHAPTER  III.     CAMP  HICKS.  Pages  36  to  45. 

CHAPTER  IV.  THE  BURNSIDE  EXPEDITION.  Pages  46  to  61. 
CHAPTER  V.  THE  BATTLE  OF  ROANOKE.  Pages  62  to  96. 

CHAPTER  VI.  THE  CAPTURE  OF  NEW  BERNE.  Pages  97  to  1 1 1. 
CHAPTER  VII.  NEW  BERNE  AND  CAMP  OLIVER.  Pages  1 1 2  to  1 29. 
CHAPTER  VIII.  EXPEDITIONS.  Pages  130  to  158. 

CHAFrER  IX.  EXPEDITIONS  (continued}.  Pages  159  to  195. 
CHAPTER  X.  CAMP,  MARCH,  AND  BIVOUAC.  Pages  196  to  226. 
CHAPTER  XI.  RE-ENLISTING.  Pages  227  to  256. 

CHAPTER  XII.     THE  BATTLE  SUMMER.  Pages  257  to  324. 


Battles  and  Skirmishes 


in  which  Company  A  took  part. 


ROANOKE  ISLAND, 
NEW  BERNE, 
KINSTON, 

WHITEHALL,  ,. 

GOLDSBORO',  . 

Near  KINSTON,       .         '    . 
DEEP  GULLY, 
GUM  SWAMP, 
PORT  WALTHAL, 
CHESTERFIELD  JUNCTION, 
ARROWFIELD  CHURCH, 
PALMER'S  CREEK, 
DREWRY'S  BLUFF, 
COBB'S  HILL, 

COLD  HARBOR, 

( <         it 

"         "         Charge, 

PETERSBURG,  Guns  captured, 

( i 

1 '          Charge, 

<  < 

' «  Crater, 


February  8,  1862. 
March  14,      " 
December  14,      " 
16,     " 
1  8,     " 
March  6,  1863. 

"     13,     " 
May  22,     " 
"      6,  1864. 


11     16,     M 

"       21,       " 

June  i,     " 


"  16,  " 

"    18,  " 

"   30,  " 

July  30,  «  ' 


THE  STORY  OF  COMPANY  A. 


CHAPTER   I. 

FORMATION. 

DARK  CLOUDS  which  had  so  long  low 
ered  above  the  American  horizon  at  last   burst 
over  the  fiery  land  of  South  Carolina  ;  and  with  the  °Penins 

of  the 

first  gun  fired  by  rebellious  hands  at  Fort  Sumter, 
the  country  was  plunged  into  a  whirlwind  of  civil 
war. 

If,  as  Emerson  says,  the  first  shot  fired  at  Con- 
cord was  heard  round  the  world,  so  the  first  shot 
at  Sumter,  April  I2th,  1861,  was  not  only  heard 
round  the  world,  but  its  echoes  will  resound  through 
the  ages  ;  and  the  state  which  has  the  credit  of  com- 
mencing the  fierce  and  bloody  struggle  of  i86r, — 
that  dastardly  attempt  to  overthrow  the  freest  and 
best  government  the  world  has  ever  seen — cannot 
escape  being  damned  to  an  infamy  for  which  history 
has  no  parallel. 


8  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

The  election  of  Abraham  Lincoln  as  President  of 


the  United  States  in  1860,  was  the  signal  for  an 
uprising  of  the  whole  Slave  Power  against  the  pre- 
vailing free-labor  sentiment  of  the  Northern  People. 
The  conflict  was  inevitable,  and  while  the  South 
was  organizing  and  arming,  the  North,  depend- 
ing upon  the  ability  of  the  Government  to  protect 
itself,  was  in  a  measure  unprepared  for  the  terrible 
and  bloody  struggle  that  was  soon  to  follow. 
M  Massachusetts,  however,  always  watchful  for  the 

chusetts  cause  of  Union  and  Liberty,  was  ready  to  meet  the 
enemy  when  its  uplifted  hand  should  strike  the 
blow.  Governor  John  A.  Andrew,  foreseeing  the 
approaching  storm,  wisely  provided  for  the  emer- 
gency ;  and  by  the  promulgation  of  General  Order 
General  No.  4,  in  January,  1861,  the  number  of  officers  and 
men  of  the  volunteer  militia,  who  would  respond  in- 

No.  4. 

stantly  to  any  call  which  might  be  made  upon  them 
by  the  President  of  the  United  States,  was  ascer- 
tained with  absolute  accuracy. 

The  Worcester  companies,  City  Guards  and  Light 
Infantry,  voted  almost  unanimously  "ready,"  as  did 
most  of  the  companies  in  the  state.  Subsequent 
events  proved  the  wisdom  of  this  order,  for  almost 
before  the  sound  of  the  first  hostile  gun  ceased  its 


2$th  Regt.  Mass.  Vols. .  9 

reverberations,  the  militia  of  the  Old  Commonwealth  

were  marching  to  the  relief  of  our  defenseless  Cap- 
ital. 

The  men  of  Worcester,  whose  patriotism  never 
failed,  were  among  the  first  to  answer  the  call  to 
arms.      The   Sixth  Regiment,  with  our  Worcester 
Light  Infantry,  encountering  armed  treason  in  the 
streets   of    Baltimore,   gallantly    fought    their    way      Tke 
through  to  the  city  of  Washington  ;  and  the  ring  of  Capital 
their  muskets  on  the  marble  floor  of  the  Senate 
Chamber  gave  assurance  that  the  Capital  was  safe, 
and  that  the  conspirators  were  foiled. 

The  Third  Battalion   Rifles,  with  the  Worcester 
City  Guards,  Emmet  Guards,  and   Holden   Rifles,-    Three 
three  full  companies,  proceeding  to  Annapolis,  Md.,  Months1 
and  from  thence  to  Fort  Me  Henry,  re-enforcing  the       en' 
handful  of  regulars  there,  saved  that  important  po- 
sition from  capture  by  the  secessionists  of  Baltimore. 
The  Fourth,  Fifth  and  Eighth  regiments  did  excel- 
lent service  at  Fortress  Monroe,  the  Relay  House, 
and  in  Virginia. 

The  State  of  Massachusetts  had  ever  been  noted 

1 ne 

for  its  excellent  militia  system,  which  in  point  of  Militia. 
numbers  and  efficiency,  was  superior  to  all  others. 
There  were  many  people,  however,  who  considered 


io  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

it  useless  and  unprofitable.      This  sentiment  was 


changed  quite  rapidly  when  the  danger  signal  was 
sounded  ;  and  its  enemies  became  its  most  enthu- 
siastic friends  when  they  found  that  these  "holiday 
soldiers"  were  ready  at  a  moment's  notice  to  leave 
home,  friends,  business,  everything, — going  to  scenes 
of  strife  and  unknown  dangers,  perhaps  never  to 
return  ;  but  resolved  to  perform  their  duty  to  the 
country  as  soldiers  and  citizens,  regardless  of  con- 
sequences  to  themselves.  The  three  months'  men, 
by  their  courage  and- devotion  to  duty  in  the  hour 
of  peril,  checked  the  tide  of  treason,  and  proved  the 
sterling  worth  of  our^volunteer  militia.  Their  record 
is  one  which  will  ever  redound  to  the  glory  of  Massa- 
chusetts, and  will  be  prized  among  her  richest  his- 
toric treasures. 

On  the  3d  day  of  May,   the   President  issued  a 

Second  proclamation  calling  for  a  force  of  volunteers  to  serve 

can  for  three  years.     He  appealed  to  all  loyal  people  to  aid 

Troops.  jn  mamtam}ng  the  nation's  honor  and  integrity.    On 

the  1 5th  of  June,  the  first  three  years'  regiment  left 

the  state,  and  others  followed  in  rapid  succession ; 

the  Fifteenth  left  Worcester  on  the  8th,  and  the 

Twenty-first  on  the  22nd  of  August. 


Regi.  Mass.  Vols.  1 1 

The  return  of  the  Sixth  Regiment  and  Third  Bat- 


talion, August  2nd,  after  three  months'  service,  was 

.          >  ....  ™,  .  Return 

an  occasion  tor  general  rejoicing.      1  hey  were  given      rthe 
a  perfect  ovation  by  the  throngs  of  people  that  im-  oidSixth. 
peded  their  progress  through  the  streets,  with  such 
demonstrations  of  welcome  as  had  never  been  seen 
in  Worcester  before.     The  boys  were  glad  enough 
to  get  home,  but  soon  became  restless,  and  nearly 
all  of  them  re-entered  the  service,  a  large  number 
as  officers  in  the  three  years'  regiments. 

The  public  excitement  at  this  time  was  intense. 
The  people  were  thoroughly  aroused.  Thousands 
of  loyal,  patriotic  men,  regardless  of  politics  or  na- 
tionality, were  seeking  an  opportunity  to  march  to 
their  imperilled  country's  defense.  They  had  re- 
solved to  maintain  the  honor  of  the  flag  and  the 
unity  of  the  states  at  all  hazards.  They  only  desired 
leaders  of  ability  and  courage  in  whom  they  could 
place  confidence.  Officers  of  experience  were  in 
demand,  and  among  those  whose  services  were  ea- 
gerly sought  for  was  Lieut.  Pickett  of  the  Worcester  Lieut. 
City  Guards.  Previous  to  the  war  he  had  seen  con-  Pukett' 
siderable  service  in  the  militia,  joining  Company  F, 
Old  .Sixth  Massachusetts,  as  early  as  1840,  and  the 
Worcester  City  Guards  in  1855.  When  the  first  call 


1 2  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

came,  in  April,  1861,  he  held  a  commission  as  lieu- 


tenant in  this  company.  His  ready  and  patriotic 
response,  while  others  were  hesitating,  had  made  him 
conspicuous,  and  gave  him  a  high  reputation  as  a 
soldier  of  unquestioned  ability  and  courage.  Since 
his  return  from  the  three  months'  service,  he  had 
been  offered  the  command  of  the  Webster  company 
in  the  Fifteenth,  and  the  Barre  company  in  the 
Twenty-first,  but  declined,  preferring  to  remain  with 
his  old  associates  of  the  Third  Battalion,  who  were 
arranging  for  the  formation  of  a  new  regiment.  The 
plan  soon  developed,  and  resulted  in  an  order  from 
Gov.  Andrew,  issued  Sept.  loth,  for  the  organization 
of  a  Worcester  County  regiment  to  be  designated 
the  Twenty-fifth  ;  and  Captain  Tosiah  Pickett  was 

Regiment. 

authorized  to  recruit  COMPANY  A  for  this  regiment- 

Company 

A.  Headquarters  were  immediately  opened  at  Brinley 
Hall,  then  the  armory  of  the  Guards,  and  business 
became  brisk  at  once.  The  best  young  men  in  the 
city  were  eager  to  enlist  in  the  new  company  under 
its  popular  commander,  and  quite  a  number  of  his 
old  comrades  in  Company  A,  Third  Rifles,  were 
among  the  first  to  enroll  themselves. 

In  ten  days'  time  the  ranks  of  the  Company  were 
filled  with  resolute,  courageous  young   men,    and 


25th  Regt,  Mass.  Vols.  13 

it  was  waiting  orders.     On  September  26th,  orders 


1861. 
were  received  to  go  into  camp,  and  at  10  A.  M.  the 

same  day,  the  company  assembled  for  the  last  time  in 
Brinley  (now  Grand  Army)  Hall,  marched  to  the 
Agricultural  Grounds,  and  went  into  camp,  which  camp 
was  known  as  "Camp  Lincoln."  These  grounds  Lincoln- 
had  a  half-mile  race  track  in  the  center,  and  am- 
ple sheds  for  cattle  and  horses  on  exhibition  days, 
with  a  large  building  containing  halls  for  the  display 
of  fruit,  vegetables,  and  all  farm  products.  The 
whole  was  enclosed  with  a  high  board  fence,  inside 
of  which  the  soldiers  were  posted  on  guard  duty, 
and  paced  their  rounds  with  all  the  precision  of  reg- 
ulars. These  grounds,  which  were  considered  the 
largest  in  Massachusetts,  were  bounded  on  the  east 
by  what  is  now  Sever  street,  on  the  north  by  High- 
land street,  on  the  west  by  Agricultural  street,  and 
extended  southerly  nearly  to  Cedar  street. 

The  organization  of  the  Company  was  here  com-  „ 

£>  r       j  Company 

pleted.  Francis  E.  Goodwin,  a  young  business  man  organized. 
of  high  character  and  patriotic  purpose,  and  an  old 
member  of  the  City  Guards,  was  appointed  first 
lieutenant.  Merrit  B.  Bessey,  who  had  served  with 
much  credit  in  Company  A,  Third  Rifles,  in  the  three 
months'  service,  received  the  appointment  of  second 


1 4  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

lieutenant ;  and  the  following  is  the  full  roster  and 


1861. 


Roster. 


roll  of  the  Company  : 


Age. 


Josiah  Pickett,  Captain,       38 

Francis  E.  Goodwin,    ist  Lieut.,   31 

Merrit  B.  Bessey,         2d      ' '        22 

George  A.  Johnson,     ist  Sergt.,  42 

George  Burr,  Sergt.,        26 

James  M.  Hervey,  ' ' 

James  J.  McLane,  ' ' 

Welcome  W.  Sprague,      ' ' 

Frank  L.  R.  Coes,         Corp., 

Jaalam  Gates, 

Calvin  A.  Wesson, 

Edwin  A.  Morse, 

Henry  M.  Ide, 

John  A.  Thompson, 

John  A.  Chenery, 

Samuel  H.  Putnam, 

Jubal  H.  Haven,         Musician, 

Jesse  L.  Yeaw, 

Sylvanus  G.  Bullock,  Wagoner, 

Nathaniel  O.  Adams,   Private, 

Samuel  C.  T.  Aborn, 

Charles  S.  Bartlett, 


Residence. 

Worcester. 


23 

24 

<  i 

33 

<  i 

23 

'  * 

38 

1  ' 

29 

Grafton. 

19 

Worcester. 

30 

i  < 

22 

t  < 

26 

27 

«  ' 

54 

'  ' 

19 

Northboro'. 

27 

Worcester. 

23 

Boston. 

27 

Worcester. 

19 

'  « 

25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols. 


Age. 


George  R.  Brown,         Private, 
Moses  P.  Brown,  '  ' 

Moses  L.  Bolster,  Jr.,        '  ' 
Francis  B.  Brock, 
Henry  D.  Brock, 
Hamlin  Butterfield, 
Horace  E.  Brooks,  '  ' 

David  B.  Bigelow, 
George  W.  Bigelow,         '  ' 
Albert  N.  Bonn, 
Cyrus  Brumley, 
Hiram  H.  H.  Billings, 
George  E.  Curtis,  '  ' 

Samuel  S.  Dresser,  '  ' 

Reuben  H.  DeLuce, 
Thomas  Earle,  '  ' 

Lewis  J.  Elwell,  '  ' 

Joseph  P.  Eaton,  '  ' 

Daniel  T.  Eaton, 
Elbridge  B.  Fairbanks,      '  ' 
Jerome  H.  Fuller,  '  ' 

Charles  Forbes,  '  ' 

Francis  Greenwood,  '  ' 

John  L.  Goodwin,  '  ' 

3 


23  Grafton.       l86x- 
2 1     Worcester.      Roil 

20  '  '  ofthe 

Company. 

28         Athol. 
19 

2 1  Sterling. 
26     Worcester. 
29 

18 

24  -    [Ct. 
24  Jewett  City, 
2  5  Worcester. 

21  '  ' 

20 

22  Boston. 
38     Worcester. 
18 

2 1  Auburn. 

3i 

30     Worcester. 

18 

42 

22  '   ' 
20 


i6 


The  Story  of  Company  A. 


i86i. 

Henry  Goulding,  2d,     Private, 

30 

Worcester. 

Roll 

James  M.  Green,                '  ' 

2  I 

Boston. 

of  the 

Andrew  L.  George,            '  ' 

21 

Worcester. 

Company. 

Charles  Henry,                    '  ' 

44 

«  t 

Cyrus  L.  Hutchins,            '  ' 

30 

Edward  S.  Hewitt, 

21 

Auburn. 

John  W.  Hartshorn, 

22 

Worcester. 

William  E.  Holman, 

19 

Cyrus  W.  Holman,            '  ' 

21 

Edward  P.  Hall, 

19 

i  < 

William  R.  Keef, 

2O 

Auburn. 

Charles  H.  Knowlton,       '  ' 

23 

Worcester. 

Benjamin  C.  Knowles,      '  ' 

42 

Auburn. 

Augustus  Knowles,           '  ' 

21 

Lucius  F.  Kingman,           '  ' 

19 

Northboro'. 

Henry  F.  Knox,                 '  ' 

28 

Holden. 

Walter  D.  Knox, 

22 

William  L.  Lyon, 

2O 

Worcester. 

Charles  A.  Mayers, 

20 

Auburn. 

B 

Charles  H.  Monroe, 

2O 

Worcester. 

Lloyd  G.  Manning, 

23 

i  < 

George  E.  Merrill, 

23 

<  t 

Daniel  M.  G.  Merrill, 

26 

«  ' 

Charles  Matherson,            '  ' 

25 

Boston. 

25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols. 


Age. 


Chauncey  L.  Metcalf,    Private, 

Eli  Pike, 

George  F.  Penniman,        '  ' 

Sidney  W.  Phillips,  '  ' 

Henry  H.  Pratt, 

William  W.  Putnam, 

Orrin  Parsons, 

Walter  H.  Richards, 

George  F.  Robinson, 

Henry  W.  Reed, 

Amos  E.  Stearns, 

George  F.  Stearns, 

John  B.  Savage, 

George  L,  Seagrave,        '  ' 

Hiram  Staples, 

Elijah  Simonds, 

Charles  Smith,  '  4 

Paris  Smith, 

Augustus  Stone, 

Julius  M.  Tucker,  '  ' 

Nelson  Tiffany,  '  ' 

Chester  O.  Upham,          '  ' 

Alonzo  D.  Whitcomb,      '  ' 

Frederick  A.  White, 


36     Worcester.     l861 
19 

22  '   ' 


Roll 

of  the 

Company. 


24 

21        Grafton. 
21 

34  Worcester. 
18 

21  '   ' 

18 
28 

22  Clinton. 
25     Worcester. 
24      Uxbridge. 
20       Douglas. 
39     Worcester. 
39 

A    A  '      < 

44 

20  '  ' 

20  '   ' 

1 8        Auburn. 

35  Worcester. 
26 

20  '   ' 


i8 


The  Story  of  Company  A. 


i86i. 

Hale  Wesson,                Private, 

19 

Grafton. 

Roll 

James  Wesson,                  '  ' 

18 

<  < 

of  the 

Frank  Wright,                    '  ' 

20 

Holden. 

Company. 

John  Wright,                      '  ' 

18 

Worcester. 

Edwin  D.  Waters, 

25 

Millbury. 

Timothy  M.  Ward, 

19 

Worcester. 

Cyrus  K.  Webber, 

20 

Brookfield. 

Total  :  officers,  3  ;  men, 

98  = 

IOI. 

NAMES  OF  RECRUITS. 

Name.                                                             Rank. 

Age. 

Residence. 

Abel  S.  Angell,              Private, 

18 

Boston. 

Names  of 
recruits. 

Sidney  J.  Atkinson, 

42 

Worcester. 

Charles  E.  Benson, 

20 

Blackstone. 

Walter  S.  Bugbee, 

30 

Worcester. 

Daniel  W.  Burt, 

24 

i  « 

John  P.  Coulter, 

19 

Clinton. 

Charles  A.  Davis, 

18 

Upton. 

Joseph  L.  Delaney, 

33 

Auburn. 

Horace  W.  Dryden, 

23 

Worcester. 

Charles  Eaton, 

22 

Gardner. 

Timothy  Foley, 

19 

Worcester. 

Benjamin  C.  Green,          ^' 

25 

i  < 

Reuben  Heywood, 

21 

'  * 

Charles  B.  Kendall,          '  ' 

21 

25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols. 


James  Kerwin, 
William  R.  Leseur, 
Horace  Lincoln, 
Ira  Lindsey, 
John  Madden, 
Andrew  J.  McKinstry, 
Bernard  McSheny, 
John  Moore, 
George  H.  Nottage, 
Charles  O'Neil, 
George  Packard, 
Henry  A.  Pond, 
Lyman  J.  Prentiss, 
Charles  D.  Roby, 
Edward  J.  Sargent, 
George  E.  Sawyer, 
Liberty  W.  Stone, 
James  D.  Thompson, 
Joseph  H.  Thompson, 
Charles  E,  Wheeler, 
James  White, 
George  W.  Wood, 
William  H.  Wood, 


Private, 


Age. 

44 
19 
26 

38 
44 
44 
36 
18 
18 
18 
24 
18 

21 

19 
21 

23 
38 
21 

19 

39 
45 
18 
18 


Worcester.     l861- 

Milford.       Names  of 

Charlestown.  recruits- 

Worcester. 

«  < 

Southbridge. 
Mendon. 
Dudley. 
Hopkinton. 

Milford. 
Fitchburg. 

Milford. 
Northbridge. 
Worcester. 
Oakham. 
Clinton. 
Milford. 
Oxford. 
Worcester. 
Uxbridge. 
Worcester. 
LJpton. 


Number  of  Recruits,  37. 


2O  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

The    Twenty-fifth    Regiment    was    a    Worcester 

County  regiment,  nearly  all  of  the  officers  and  men 

belonging  to  that  section.    The  commanding  officer 

was  Colonel  Edwin  Upton,  of  Fitchburg,  forty-five 

Colonel  years  of  age,  firm  and  dignified  in  bearing,  genial  and 

Upton.    ' 

courteous  to  every  one.  ror  many  years  connected 
with  the  Massachusetts  Militia,  he  was  a  thorough 
soldier  and  a  brave  officer.  Resigning  on  account 
of  disability  after  more  than  a  year's  service,  it  is  but 
little  to  say  that  he  was  beloved  by  every  soldier  in 
the  Regiment.  He  still  lives  (April,  1886),  a  wreck 
of  his  former  self,  having  lost  his  sight  by  a  terrible 
accident  while  blasting  rocks.  Peace  be  with  him. 
May  his  end  be  like  the  going  down  of  the  sun  in  a 
cloudless  sky — calm,  serene,  and  beautiful. 

The  Lieutenant-Colonel  was  A.  B.  R.  Sprague, 
of  slight  build  and  gentlemanly  appearance,  thirty- 
'a  °ue  four  years  of  age,  and  a  resident  of  Worcester.  He, 
also,  was  a  militia  officer  of  years  of  experience, 
and  served  during  the  three  months'  campaign  as 
Captain  of  Company  A  (City  Guards),  in  the  Third 
Battalion  Rifles.  He  was  thoroughly  familiar  with 
military  tactics,  and  a  strict  disciplinarian.  He  re- 
signed after  about  a  year's  service  in  the  Twenty- 
fifth,  and  appeared  again  in  the  field  as  Colonel  of 


2  5th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  21 

the  Fifty-first,  a  nine  months'  regiment  ;  later  he  was  - 
Colonel  of  the  Second  Massachusetts  Heavy  Ar- 
tillery, and  was  mustered  out  of  the  service  in  1865 
as  Brevet  Brigadier-General.  He  is,  at  present 
writing,  living  in  Worcester,  and  is  still  on  duty  as 
Sheriff  of  the  County. 

Major  Matthew  J.  McCafferty  was  thirty-two  years 

Major 

old,  and  a  resident  of  Worcester.      He  was  one  of 


the  (very)  few  lawyers  of  Worcester  who,  in  1861,  ferfy- 
locked  their  office  doors,  threw  away  the  keys,  and 
fought  under  the  starry  folds  of  "Old  Glory."  He 
was  also  a  three  months'  man,  serving  as  Lieutenant 
in  the  Emmet  Guards  ;  and  remained  with  the 
Twenty-fifth  until  after  the  battles  of  Roanoke  and 
New  Berne,  when  he  returned  home  and  effectively 
aided  the  cause  by  furthering  enlistments,  and  de- 
livering many  patriotic  addresses.  At  the  time  of 
his  death,  in  May,  1885,  he  was  one  of  the  justices 
of  the  Boston  Municipal  Court. 

Our  Adjutant  was  Elijah  A.   Harkness,  twenty- 
three  years  old,  and  a  man  of  very  delicate  build  for  AdJutant 
a  soldier.    He  resided  in  Worcester,  and  had  served 
in  the  three  months'  campaign  as  Lieutenant  in  the 
City  Guards.     He  resigned  to  accept  the  position 


22  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

of  Major  in  the  Fifty-first  Regiment.    After  the  war 

he  went  to  Chicago,  where  he  died. 

The  Surgeon  was  J.  Marcus  Rice,  a  well  known 

burgeon 

Rice,  physician  of  Worcester,  thirty-four  years  old.  He 
was  wounded  at  Roanoke,  was  afterwards  Medical 
Director  of  the  Eighteenth  Army  Corps,  and  still 
later,  Medical  Inspector  of  the  Army  of  the  James, 
serving  through  the  war.  He  is  still  in  practice  in 
Worcester,  as  genial  and  full  of  business  as  ever. 

Our  Chaplain  was  Rev.  Horace  James,  Pastor  of 
„,  A,  .   the  Old  South  Church  in  Worcester.      After  the 

Lnaplain 

James,  battle  of  New  Berne  he  had  charge  of  the  freedmen, 
and  was  afterwards  Captain  and  Assistant  Quarter- 
master, U.  S.  Vols.  He  died  in  1875. 

The  Quartermaster,  William  O.  Brown  of  Fitch- 
burg,  was  forty-six  years  of  age.     He  was  a  man — 

Quarter- 
master everybody  liked    him — always    pleasant,    and    ever 

Brown.  ready  to  do  a  good  turn  for  the  private  soldier — 
no  wonder  everybody  liked  him.  He  served  his 
full  time  of  three  years,  and  is  now  living  in  Fitch- 
burg,  holding  the  office  of  County  Commissioner. 
Everybody  likes  him  still. 

Let  us  now  glance  at  life  in  Camp  Lincoln. 


CHAPTER    II. 


AT  CAMP  LINCOLN. 


MEMBERS  of  the  Company,  after  selecting 


tent-mates,   quickly  adapted  themselves  to   the 
routine  of  camp  life.     The  work  of  drill  and  disci-  Adapta- 
pline  now  began   in  earnest.      The  nucleus  of  old 
soldiers  in  the  ranks  of  the  Company  was  of  great     Life. 
advantage  ;  as  instructors  to  the  new  men  they  were 
invaluable.     This  was  soon  manifested  in  the  excel- 
lent appearance  of  the  Company  on  drill  or  parade. 
Company  A  was  assigned  the  post  of  honor  on  the 
right  of  the  regimental  line. 

It  was  interesting  to  witness  the  change  from  citi- 
zens to  soldiers.  Camp  life  was  new  to  the  major- 
ity of  the  Company,  but  after  a  few  days  of  the  regu- 
lar company  drill,  and  a  few  nights  of  sleeping  in 
tents,  the  novelty  wore  off  ;  and  when  the  time  came 
to  break  camp,  it  was  hard  to  distinguish  the  three 
months  men  from  those  of  less  experience. 

4 


24  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

Company  A,  being  the  right  flank  company,  was 
drilled  in  the  bayonet  exercise,  and  also  the  skir- 
mish drill.  These  evolutions  always  attracted  a  crowd 
of  spectators  from  the  numbers  which  thronged  the 
grounds,  and  were  performed  with  the  greatest  en- 
thusiasm by  the  Company  daily.  As  to  amusements 
while  in  Camp  Lincoln,  it  must  be  confessed  that 
Amuse-  ^g.  crowds  of  visitors  were  so  great  that  there  was 
little  time  to  attend  to  any ;  still  athletic  exercises 
were  indulged  in  to  some  extent.  Boxing,  gymnas- 
tics, and  running  races  around  the  half-mile  track 
were  daily  practiced.  The  weather  was  delightful 
during  the  stay  of  the  Twenty-fifth  at  Camp  Lincoln ; 
and  although  the  nights  were  often  cold  and  frosty, 
the  days  were  clear  and  bright.  The  recollection  of 
those  crisp,  sparkling  October  days  of  1861  comes 
back  to  us  like  the  memory  of  a  pleasant  dream. 

The  tents  used  by  the  Company  m  Camp  Lincoln 
were  A  tents,  and  were  intended  to  hold  six  men 

Tents. 

each,  with  all  their  equipments.  This  was  rather 
crowding  things,  and  a  good  deal  like  packing  sar- 
dines in  a  box ;  still  it  was  taken  as  a  matter  of  course, 
and  the  inconvenience  submitted  to  in  perfect  good 
nature.  These  tents  were,  some  time  after,  ex- 
changed for  Sibley  tents, — much  more  comfortable 


2 5th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.                              25 
— later  for  shelter  tents,  and  at  last,  while  before   

e  11  l86l. 

Petersburg,  for  no  tents  at  all. 

The  streets  in  Camp  Lincoln  were  named.  Our 
company  street  was  designated,  as  the  signboard 
read,  "Pickett  Avenue,"  in  honor  of  our  Captain.  Camp 
The  tents  bore  names  according  to  the  whims  of  the  " 
occupants.  One  was  known  as  "Rovers'  Lodge," 
another  as  "Whispering  House,"  probably  because 
it  was  the  noisiest  tent  on  the  street.  There  were 
"Upton's  Hotel,"  "Orphans'  Home"  and  others. 
These  were  amusing  to  visitors  and  created  a  deal 
of  merriment  as  they  read  the  names.  So  with  drill- 
ing four  or  five  hours  daily,  jjuard  mounting,  dress 
parade,  inspection,  and  crowds  of  visitors,  the  days 
passed  rapidly  away. 

On  the  i  jth  of  October  we  were  mustered  into 
the  service  of  the  United  States  by  Captain   I.   M. 

*  J  in. 

Goodhue,  and  were  citizens  no  longer.  Clothing 
was  served  out  to  us  at  this  time,  and  bidding  adieu 
to  citizens'  attire  for  three  years,  we  were  arrayed 
in  the  blue  of  Uncle  Sam ;  and  with  the  ungainly 
black  regulation  hat,  and  clumsy  overcoat  and  bro- 
gans,  the  transformation  from  citizens  to  soldiers  was 
complete.  The  brogans  caused  a  deal  of  fun  among 
the  boys,  and  some  were  loth  to  give  up  the  nice*- 


26  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

fitting-  civilian's  boot,  and  tried  to  fight  it  out  on  that 

line  ;  but  the  brogan  conquered,  and  it  was  found  by 
experience  that  the  army  shoe  with  its  wide  sole, 
and  its  broad,  low  heel,  was  the  best  thing  for  march- 
ing. Our  rifles  were  soon  after  received,  and  we 
now  fancied  ourselves  soldiers  indeed. 

Each  soldier  was  entitled  to  clothing  as  follows  : 

clothing  Qne  dress  /frock)  coat  of  dark  blue  cloth,  with  brass 

of  the 

Soldier,  buttons  ;.  one  fatigue  jacket,  dark  blue,  coarser  cloth, 
brass  buttons  ;  pants  and  overcoat  of  light  blue  ; 
woolen  shirts  and  drawers,  blue-mixed  or  gray  ;  solid 
sewed  brogans  tied  with  leather  strings ;  and  finally 
the  broad-brimmed  black  felt  hat,  turned  up  on  the 
left  with  a  brass  eagle  to  fasten  it  in  that  position  ; 
and  the  blue  cap  with  a  broad  visor,  with  the  number 
of  the  regiment  and  the  letter  of  the  company  on 
the  crown,  which  sloped  towards  the  visor.  Such 
was  the  clothing  of  the  soldier  of  1861  at  Camp  Lin- 
coln. He  also  drew  a  large,  brown  U.  S.  blanket 
and  a  rubber  blanket. 

In  his  every-day  or  working  dress  while  in  Camp 
Lincoln,  our  soldier  wore  his  blue  jacket  with  brass 
buttons,  his  pants  of  light  blue,  and  cap  with  broad 
visor ;  and  with  his  woolen  shirt,  drawers,  stockings 
and  brogans,  he  was,  if  not  a  handsome,  at  least  a 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  27 

comfortable  looking-  soldier.      At  dress  parade,  in- 


,  .    ,  ,  1861. 

spections  and  reviews,  he  wore  his  blue  dress  coat, 

and  the  ugly  black  felt  hat  turned  up  at  the  side, 
instead  of  the  blue  jacket  and  fatigue  cap. 

This  is,  as  we  call  him  up  from  memory,  the  way 
our  Company  A  soldier  was  dressed  at  Camp  Lin- 
coln.    As  we  stood  in  line  in  heavy  marching  order,      /» 
we  were  dressed  in  our  best,  with  equipments  Q^tMarcktn 

Order. 

rifles  to  the  shoulder,  and  knapsacks  on  our  backs.* 
The  knapsack  contained  all  we  possessed  in  the  way 
of  extra  clothing,  and  the  overcoat,  while  in  a  neat 
roll  on  its  top  was  the  woolen  blanket  with  the  rub- 
ber blanket  outside.  The  haversack  contained  a  .tin 
plate,  knife,  fork,  spoon,  and  a  tin  cup  holding  a 
quart.  The  canteen  filled  with  water  was  indispen- 
sable. Now,  for  the  moment,  if  we  look  at  him  Three 
three  years  later,  we  shall  find  something  of  a  later 
change  in  his  appearance.  He  is  in  the  trenches 
before  Petersburg  during  that  terrible  summer  of 
1864.  His  knapsack  is  gone — they  were  all  stored 
in  Portsmouth  during  the  Petersburg  campaign. 
The  ugly  black  hat  with  its  brass  eagle  has  disap- 
peared ;  that  vanished  in  Carolina  long  ago.  Over- 

*.The  total  weight  of  arms,  equipments  and  extra  clothing  carried  by  each 
soldier  was  about  forty-five  pounds.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  the  knapsacks  were 
never  again  loaded  so  heavily  as  at  this  time. 


28  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

coats  have  nearly  all  departed,  and  very  few  have 

woolen  blankets.  Thus  we  see  the  veteran  stripped 
to  the  very  lightest  possible  fighting  trim  ;  the  clothes 
which  he  has  on,  his  equipments,  his  trusty  old  En- 
field  rifle,  his  haversack  containing  plate  and  other 
utensils,  canteen  and  rubber  blanket,  are  all  that  he 
carries  with  him.  The  last  is  rolled  lengthwise  and 
thrown  over  the  neck  like  a  horse  collar,'  with  the  ends 
tied  together  hanging  down  the  left  side.  The  wool- 
en blanket,  if  he  possessed  one,  was  rolled  within  the 
other.  That  is  all  that  is  left  of  our  soldier  now. 
Tents  there  are  none  ;  he  sleeps  on  the  ground  in 
the  open  air.  His  comrades  are  many  of  them  dead, 
in  rebel  prisons,  sick,  and  scattered  far  away — but  I 
anticipate. 

On  the  2  ist  of  October  the  regimental  baggage 

Prepara- 
tions for  wagons  arrived,  twelve  in  all,  besides  the  hospital 

Depart-  teams,  and  the  lonesome  looking  ambulances.     On 

UTC* 

the  3Oth,  the  Regiment  was  reviewed  by  Governor 
Andrew  and  staff,  the  grounds  being  crowded  with 
spectators.  The  Governor  made  a  stirring  address 
to  the  soldiers,  and  complimented  the  Regiment  on 
its  fine  and  soldierly  appearance. 

On  the  3  ist  of  October  orders  were  given  to  break 
camp.      Now  all  was  excitement  ;   the  packing  of 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  29 

knapsacks — and  they  were  never  so  solidly  packed 


again  ;  orders  quickly  given  and  as  quickly  obeyed ; 
the  hum  of  hurried  conversation,  and  bursts  of 
laughter  from  the  different  tents — all  denoted  that 
we  were  to  move.  A  collation  provided  by  Wor- 
cester ladies  was  served  in  the  Hall,  a  good  part  of 
the  rations  which  were  on  the  tables  quietly  finding' 

*    Rations 

a  place  in  the  haversacks  of  the  soldiers.  Rations  ?  {„ 
— army  rations  ? — nay,  verily ;  generous,  kind,  too  Cam? 
kind,  friends  of  the  soldiers  allowed  us  to  eat  very 
little  of  army  rations  while  at  Camp  Lincoln.  In- 
deed, it  seemed  as  if  we  had  everything  but  army 
rations.  It  was  a  different  story  a  few  days  after — 
nothing  but  army  rations  then.  Pies,  cakes,  butter, 
and  all  the  various  knicknacks  of  civilized  cookery 
vanished,  and  the  substantial  salt  horse  and  hard 
tack  came  to  the  front,  and  came  to  stay.  After  all, 
the  ordinary  bill  of  fare  of  the  private  soldier,  com- 
pared with  that  of  his  civilized  friends,  was  the 
healthier  of  the  two. 

The  men  were  now  placed  in  position  around  their 
respective  tents ;  at  a  given  signal  every  tent  fell  as 
if  by  magic,  and  Camp  Lincoln  was  numbered  among 
the  things  that  were.  Regimental  line  was  formed 
about  three  o'clock,  and  as  we  stood  there  in  heavy 


30  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

marching  order,  it  certainly  appeared  more  like  busi- 
ness ;  and  it  seemed  hardly  possible  that  these  men, 
tanned  by  a  month's  exposure  to  the  open  air,  could 
be  the  same  pale-faced  ones  who  first  appeared  in 
citizens'  dress  at  Camp  Lincoln. 

Passing  out  of  the  western  gate,  the  principal 
entrance  to  the  grounds,  we  moved  through  Agricul- 
March  tural  and  Highland  streets,  and  wheeling  into  Main 
the  aty.  street,  marched  company  front  to  the  Common, 
where  the  train  was  waiting  for  us  on  the  Norwich 
railroad.  The  most  intense  excitement  prevailed 
throughout  the  city.  Such  crowds  of  people  filled 
the  streets  as  to  impede  the  march  of  the  Regiment ; 
every  window  had  its  anxious  interested  faces  ;  roofs 
of  buildings  were  crowded  with  excited  men  ;  cheers 
from  the  crowds  responded  to  with  cheers  from  the 
Regiment ;  the  waving  of  handkerchiefs  and  flags  ; 
and  the  stirring  strains  of  the  Regimental  Band — 
all  tended  to  make  it  one  of  the  most  exciting  scenes 
we  had  ever  witnessed. 

Oct.  31.       At  4  P.  M.,  the  train  was  in  motion,  and  amid  deaf- 

ure     ening  cheers  and  fluttering  of  handkerchiefs,  moved 

rapidly  off.      Fainter  grew  the  cheering  and  soon 

died  away ;  and  the  soldiers,  excited  as  they  were 

when  they  entered  the  cars,  soon  quieted  down,  and 


Regt.,  Mass,  Vols,  31 

it  was  easy  to  see  there  were  sober,  earnest,  thought- 


ful faces  among  them.  Where  are  we  going  ?  How 
many  of  us  will  return  ?  Shall  we  find  them  all  at  _ 

J  Thoughts. 

home  if  we  do  return  ?  These  thoughts  undoubt- 
edly filled  the  minds  of  many  of  the  boys  as  the  train 
sped  rapidly  on,  and  the  shades  of  night  gathered 
around  ;  and  it  is  sad  indeed  to  think  after  the  lapse 
of  so  many  years,  how  many  of  that  thousand  men 
did  not  return. 

Allyn's  Point  was  reached  about  9,  and  soon  after 
midnight  the  Regiment  embarked  on  board  the 
steamer  Connecticut  for  New  York.  We  had  ample 
accomodations  on  ti\efloors  of  the  steamboat,  and 
with  our  woolen  blankets  and  overcoats  were  very 
comfortable.  We  had  a  quiet  passage  to  New  York, 
which  place  we  reached  about  nine  o'clock  on  the  ^^  y0rk 
morning  of  November  i.  Marching  down  Broad-  Ci*y- 
way,  company  front,  sweeping  the  street  from  side- 
walk to  sidewalk,  band  playing,  and  the  whole  Regi- 
ment singing  "John  Brown's  body  lies  mouldering 
in  the  grave,"  we  had  another  exciting  scene  before 
us.  Broadway,  always  a  crowded  thoroughfare,  was 
literally  packed  with  people,  and  the  Regiment  was 
received  with  the  greatest  enthusiasm.  Reaching 
the  City  Hall  Park,  we  were  provided  with  breakfast 
5 


32  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

-  in  the  dingy-looking  buildings  known  as  the  Park 
Barracks.  •  These  rough  buildings,  dirty  on  the  out- 


Park  SJ^GI  nad  interiors  repulsive,  with  anything  but  a 
pleasant  air  about  them  ;  and  the  breakfast  was  not 
of  the  most  inviting  character.  Perhaps  Massachu- 
setts soldiers  were  a  little  particular,  but  that  break- 
fast was  untouched  by  many  of  Company  A. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  we  left  the  Park  Barracks, 
and  marching  through  crowded  streets  again  to  the 
ferry,  were  soon  in  Jersey  City,  and  entering  the  cars 
went  whirling  away  towards  the  Land  of  Brotherly 
Love.  Philadelphia  was  reached  about  midnight, 
deiphia.  and  what  a  surprise  awaited  us  here.  We  were 
marched  to  the  famous  Cooper  Shop,  where  thou- 
sands of  soldiers  passing  through  Philadelphia  were 
fed  weekly  all  through  the  war.  What  a  contrast 
to  the  Park  Barracks  of  New  York  City.  Here  was 
a  large,  brilliantly  lighted  hall,  with  long  rows  of 

Cooper 

Shop,  tables  loaded  down  with  the  greatest  abundance  of 
well-cooked  food  :  tea,  coffee,  cold  meats,  bread 
and  butter,  pies,  etc.,  that  brought  exclamations  of 
delight  from  the  hungry  lips  of  the  tired  soldiers  ; 
and  not  only  were  the  soldiers  themselves  filled,  but 
many  a  haversack  went  from  the  Cooper  Shop  full 
to  bursting.  Neatly  dressed,  pleasant-faced  young 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  33 

ladies  and  gentlemen  were  in  attendance,  and  met   

with  a  smile  the  hurried  questions  of  a  crowd  of 
rough  soldiers.  Wash  basins  with  cool  water  and 
clean  towels  were  plenty ;  and  a  thousand  soldiers 
marched  through  Philadelphia  that  night  breathing 
a  thousand  blessings  on  the  Cooper  Shop,  its  found- 
er, and  its  genial,  kind-hearted  attendants. 

In  marching  across  the  city  to  the  Baltimore  De- 
pot, the  regimental  band-playing  and  the  soldiers' 
singing  awoke  the  echoes  of  the  Quaker  City,  and 
many  of  its  inhabitants.  Windows  were  hastily 
thrown  up  as  the  Regiment  passed,  and  cheers  from  Marc/t 
the  houses  were  drowned  by  rousing  cheers  from 
the  soldiers.  Handkerchiefs  were  waved,  and  often 
articles  of  white  much  larger  than  handkerchiefs 
were  shaken  from  upper  story  windows.  On  the 
whole,  the  midnight  march  through  Philadelphia  was 
an  enthusiastic  one  ;  and  the  Massachusetts  soldiers 
felt  like  showering  blessings  on  the  inhabitants  of 
the  city  of  William  Penn. 

In  the  early  morning,  about  four  o'clock,  we  were 
once  more  in  the  cars,  pushing  on  towards  Baltimore. 
It  was  nearly  noon,  November  2d,  when  the  train 
reached  Havre  de  Grace,  and  we  were  taken  across 
the  Susquehanna  River  on  the  huge  ferry  boat  at 


34  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

that  place.     This  boat  took  at  one  trip  the  whole 

train,  with  its  passengers  (one  thousand  soldiers) 
and  all  their  traps.  At  this  time  it  was  raining  hard, 
and  the  weather  continued  wet  and  unpleasant  till 
Baltimore  was  reached.  *We  found  the  railroad 
guarded  by  soldiers  (the  first  we  had  seen  on  duty) 
Railroad  from  Havre  de  Grace  to  Baltimore,  a  picket  guard 

Guards. 

being  stationed  at  every  bridge  and  crossing.  Bal- 
timore was  reached  about  three  in  the  afternoon, 
and  in  a  driving  rain  we  marched  to  the  steamboat 
landing,  and  went  on  board  the  steamer  Louisiana, 
expecting  to  sail  at  once  ;  but  for  some  reason  we 
did  not  move  until  the  next  day,  Company  A  being 
quartered  on  the  steamer  for  the  night. 

Sunday  morning  at  nine  we  sailed  for  Annapolis. 
We  could  see  little  of  Baltimore  from  the  steamer, 
save  Federal  Hill,  which  had  been  fortified,  and  was 
held  by  Duryea's  Zouaves.  We  steamed  along  past 
Fort  McHenry  and  Fort  Carroll,  where  some  of  the 
Company  A  boys  had  been  posted  during  the  three 
nnaP° 1S  months'  service,  and  reached  Annapolis  about  noon, 

reached. 

marching  directly  to  the  Academy  buildings  near  by. 
Here  we  found  many  friends,  for  the  Twenty-first 
Massachusetts  Regiment  was  on  duty  here,  and  we 
of  the  Twenty-fifth  fared  well  at  their  hands. 


2$th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  35 

Our  Chaplain,  Rev.  Horace  James,  with  Chaplain 


Ball  of  the  Twenty-first,  held  religious  services  in 
the  afternoon.  The  grounds  belonging  to  the  Na- 
val Academy,  though  in  a  sad  state  of  neglect  at 
this  time,  were,  when  in  order  and  properly  cared 
for,  very  neat  and  attractive ;  but  the  Naval  School 
had  been  removed  to  Newport,  R.  I.,  and  the  build- 
ings were  now  used  as  barracks  for  soldiers. 

On  Monday,  November  4th,  we  marched  through 
the  streets  of  Annapolis,  about  two  miles  from  the 
place  of  landing,  to  a  large,  pleasant  field  on  the 
farm  of  one  Taylor,  where  our  tents  were  pitched  in  Camp 
regular  form.  This  was  our  first  camp  since  leaving 
Camp  Lincoln,  and  we  will  defer  our  account  of  the 
incidents  here  to  another  chapter. 


CHAPTER    III. 


CAMP  HICKS. 

CAMP  at  Annapolis  was  known  as  "Camp 
1861.  Hicks,"  from  the  loyal  Governor  of  Maryland  of 
Camp  tnat  name-  At  this  time  the  Fifty-first  New  York 
Hicks,  was  the  only  regiment  on  the  ground.  Here  we 
began  to  find  out  what  army  rations  were,  and 
everything  was  more  like  business.  We  drilled  seven 
or  eight  hours  daily,  and  Company  A  was  worked 
hard  as  skirmishers,  and  in  the  bayonet  exercise. 
We  occupied  the  same  A  tents  as  at  Camp  Lincoln. 
Camp  Hicks  was  very  pleasantly  situated,  and  for- 
tunately we  had  good  water — a  very  important  item 
in  camp  life — which  was  obtained  from  a  sort  of 
ravine  at  the  rear  of  the  camp,  through  which  flowed 
a  small  sluggish  stream.  A  hole  was  dug  in  the 
ground,  and  a  barrel  with  the  ends  knocked  out 
sunk  down  into  it ;  this  furnished  a  supply  for  one 
company.  We  rigged  up  a  well-sweep — a  gentle 


2 5th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  37 

reminder  of   New  England — only  in  place  of  the 


"Old  Oaken  Bucket"  we  had  an  old  iron  kettle, 
which  answered  the  same  purpose.  The  first  few 
days  in  Camp  Hicks  were  rather  tough  for  us ;  for 
some  reason  no  straw  had  been  obtained  to  sleep 
on,  and  although  we  spread  our  rubber  blankets  on 
the  ground,  and  had  woolen  blankets  and  overcoats, 
still  the  rubber  blanket,  while  it  kept  out  the  damp- 
ness, would  not  keep  out  the  chill  from  the  ground, 
which- is  as  bad.  The  consequence  was,  very  many 
of  the  boys  caught  severe  colds  and  were  coughing  Colds  and 
continually  for  some  time  after.  It  is  a  curious  fact 
that,  after  these  colds  were  gotten  rid  of,  we  seldom 
heard  of  such  a  thing  as  a  cough  in  the  Company 
during  the  whole  time  of  service. 

The  first  few  days  in  Camp  Hicks  there  appeared 
to  be  some  trouble  about  the  rations ;   and  when,  Trouble 
one  day,  we  had  raw  salt  pork  and  hard  tack  for    about 
dinner,  with  water  to  drink,  and  another  day  no  din- 
ner at  all,  we  could  not  help  longing  for  the  Phila- 
delphia Cooper  Shop  and  its  pleasant  attendants. 
But  all  this  was  straightened  out  after  a  little  time. 
We  soon  had  plenty  of  straw  for  our  beds,  hot  cof- 
fee, and  soft  bread  for  breakfast  and  supper,  and 
either  salt  beef  or  pork  with  beans,  rice  or  potatoes 


38  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

-  for  dinner,  in  abundance  and  nicely  cooked.    It  was 
1861.  .  . 

army  rations  now   (except  an  occasional  box  from 

home),  and  henceforth  to  the  end.  Probably  no 
soldiers  in  the  world  were  ever  so  well  provided 
for  as  were  our  men  of  the  North  during  the  Re- 
bellion. 

Speaking  from  experience  as  a  private  soldier  in 
the  ranks  of  Company  A,  I  must  say  that  the  rations 
were  excellent,  and  the  clothing  first-class.  When- 
we  drew  any  article  of  clothing  not  up  to  the 


Supplies, 

mark,  or  anything  in  the  way  of  rations  that  was  not 
good,  as  wormy  hard  tack  or  poor  salt  beef,  it  was 
the  rare  exception,  and  not  the  rule  by  any  means. 
Life  at  Camp  Hicks  glided  quietly  away.  We 
had  enough  to  do,  certainly,  with  six  to  eight  hours 
drill  daily,  inspections,  reviews,  target  shooting,  &c.; 
Camp  but  we  found  time  to  write,  and  time  for  amusements 
Life'  such  as  they  were  —  card-playing  and  smoking,  crib- 
bage,  reading  and  writing,  covering  about  the  whole 
ground  ;  and  a  stroll  through  the  camp  at  any  hour 
of  the  day  was  sure  to  find  more  or  less  smoking, 
and  in  the  evening  after  supper,  card-playing  and 
other  indoor  amusements  were  in  order.  It  was  a 
pleasing  sight  to  look  into  one  of  the  small  A  tents 
after  nightfall,  and  see  a  bayonet  stuck  in  the  ground 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  39 

in  the  center,  with  a  lighted  candle  inserted  in  the   - 

1861. 
end,  to  light  up  the  not  over  roomy  canvas  ;  and  a 

merry  group  of  half  a  dozen  card  players  busy  with 
their  cards,  and  of  course  their  pipes.  What  fun 
for  them  ;  hear  them  laugh  and  shout  ;  now  a  song 
in  which  they  all  join,  now  a  story.  Thus  they  while 
the  hours  away. 

The  weather  during  November  and  December 
was  very  pleasant  for  the  most  part,  —  much  like  the 
October  weather  of  New  England  ;  but  it  grew  cold- 
er, and  on  the  morning  of  December  id  we 


%  Weather. 

the  ground  frozen  quite  hard,  and  water  in  pails  out- 
side the  tents  had  frozen  about  half  an  inch.     This 
set  the  boys  to  contriving  ways  to  warm  the  tents, 
and  after  some  experimenting  they  hit  upon  a  plan 
something  like  this.    A  pit  was  dug  in  the  center  of 
the  tent  perhaps  eighteen  inches  deep,  and  as  large  HOW  the 
as  could  be  nicely  covered  with  a  flat  stone.     This     Tents 
pit  was  sometimes  lined  with  stones  somewhat  after  .. 

Warmed. 

the  style  of  a  well,  to  keep  the  earth  from  caving  in. 
From  the  bottom  of  the  pit  a  hole  was  dug  to  the 
outside  of  the  tent,  in  front  or  to  one  side,  for  the 
entrance  of  fresh  air  ;  then  from  near  the  top  of  the 
pit  a  hole  was  made  to  the  outside  of  the  tent  in  the 
rear,  as  an  outlet  for  the  smoke  ;  over  this  hole  out- 

6 


4O  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

side  a  chimney  was  built   of  mud  and  sticks,  or  a 

barrel  which  answered  as  well,  and  the  thing  was 
complete.  Now  build  a  fire  in  the  pit,  cover  the 
top  with  the  flat  stone,  and  the  Lord  willing,  and 
the  wind  in  the  right  direction,  what  smoke  did  not 
find  its  way  into  the  tent  might  possibly  go  out  of 
the  chimney.  This  experiment  was,  perhaps,  fairly 
successful,  and  some  tents  were  made  quite  warm 
in  this  way. 

The  sergeants'  tent  was  a  regular  officers'  or  wall 
tent,  with  a  fly  or  large  sheet  of  canvas  drawn  over 
the  top,  making  a  sort  of  double  roof.  This  tent 
was  occupied  by  the  five  sergeants  of  Company  A, 
and  the  cook ;  and  a  right  merry  crowd  it  was.  The 
Sergeant  ^rst  or  orderly  sergeant  was  George  A.  Johnson,  a 
Johnson.  man  over  forty  years  of  age,  of  soldierly  bearing,  dark 
complexion,  black  hair  and  full  black  beard  streaked 
with  gray,  eyes  black  as  midnight,  well  read,  full  of 
fun,  and  the  best  story-teller  in  the  Twenty-fifth 
Regiment.  "Old  Posey"  was  his  pet  name.  Con- 
nected with  the  militia  many  years,  he  was  a  thorough 
soldier,  and  served  in  the  three  months'  campaign. 
He  was  promoted  to  a  lieutenancy  in  the  Twenty-fifth 
Regiment,  was  wounded  at  Cold  Harbor,  and  after 
the  war  enlisted  in  the  regular  service,  and  was  on 


Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  41 

duty  on  the  northern  frontier  at  the  time  of  the  Fe-   

nian  raid  in  1866.     He  died  in  1881.     We  shall  see 
him  again  before  the  story  is  told. 

The  second  sergeant  was  George  Burr, — "Birdie" 
we  called  him.  Burr  was  the  pony*  sergeant  of  eBurr 
Company  A.  He  was  also  a  three  months  man, 
twenty-six  years  old,  of  pleasant,  cheerful  disposi- 
tion, and  a  perfect  pink  of  neatness — a  gentleman 
as  well  as  a  soldier.  He  was  promoted  to  a  second 
lieutenancy,  was  wounded  at  Cold  Harbor,  and  was 
mustered  out  at  the  end  of  the  three  years  as  first 
lieutenant  in  the  Twenty-fifth.  He  is,  at  present 
writing,  engaged  in  a  successful  business  in  Wor- 
cester, and  is  as  cheerful  and  pleasant  as  ever. 

The  third  sergeant  was  James  J.  McLane.    Jimmy 
or  "Jemsy,"  as  we  called  him,  was  of  Irish  extraction,  Sergeant 
twenty-four  years  old,  tall,  straight  as  a  ramrod,  a  McLane- 
splendid  soldier  and  a  genial,  social  comrade.     He, 
too,  served  with  credit  in  the  three  months'  service, 
and  was  promoted  to  be  lieutenant  in  a  "Buffalo" 
regiment  (North  Carolina  Union  troops),  where  he 
achieved  honor  and  a  name ;  and  was  mustered  out 
as  captain  in  that  regiment  at  the  end  of  the  war. 

*  ".Pony,"  i.  e.  short  in  stature.     The  men  at  the  left  of  the  Company  were 
of  course  the  shortest,  and  hence  "ponies." 


42  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

Jemsy  is  now,  and  has  been  for  years,  on  the  Wor- 
cester police  force,  and  his  tall  form  can  be  seen 
"on  duty"  any  day  in  the  streets  of  Worcester  as  he 
walks  his  beat. 

The  fourth  sergeant  was  another  three,  months 

Sergeant 

sprague.  man,  Welcome  W.  Sprague.  He  was  provost  ser- 
geant, and  did  not  do  duty  with  the  Company.  He 
was  of  a  social  nature,  and  could  ill  be  spared  from 
the  merry  ring  of  sergeants  of  Company  A.  He 
died  in  New  York  City  in  1884. 

Sergeant  Of  the  fifth  sergeant  at  Camp  Hicks  it  becometh 
Putnam.  me  to  say  little.  He  was  by  name  Samuel  H.  Put- 
nam, by  calling  a  clerk,  with  no  knowledge  whatever 
of  military  affairs  at  time  of  enlistment,  but  possibly 
an  average  soldier.  It  can  be  said  of  him  that  he 
was  reliable  ;  and  he  was  with  Company  A  in  all  its 
wanderings,  and  one  of  the  four  out  of  the  hundred 
men  who  started  with  the  Company  that  went 
through  all  its  marches  and  all  its  battles  to  the  final 
muster  out.  After  the  war  he  engaged  in  business 
as  bookseller,  and  has  followed  it  in  the  same  shop 
to  the  present  time,  a  period  of  twenty  years.  We 
shall  see  him  again. 

The  cook  was  Charles  Henry — "Uncle  Henry"  we 

The  Cook. 

called  him — forty-four  years  old, — too  old  for  a  sol- 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  43 

dier.      He  was  a  heavy  built  man,  dark  and  swarthy, 


rough  spoken,  but  good  hearted,  and  much  liked  by 
the  men. 

Lite  in  the  sergeants'  tent  at  Camp  Hicks  was 
very  pleasant.  The  tent  was  much  larger  than  the  Tgnt 
A  tent,  and  with  the  same  number  of  men  to  occupy 
it,  gave  ample  room  for  a  table  and  seats,  and  also 
a  stove,  which  as  the  weather  grew  colder,  made 
cheerful  and  comfortable  quarters.  A  dainty  set  of 
lads  were  the  sergeants  of  Company  A.  They  had 
a  coffee  pot  of  their  own,  and  ye  gods  !  what  coffee 
.came  from  that  tin  pot.  Sergeant  Sprague  being 
provost  sergeant  was  relieved  from  company  duty, 
and  it  was  for  him  to  see  that  our  breakfast  was  got 
up  properly,  and  well  he  performed  the  service. 
Coffee  always  hot,  bread  toasted,  good  butter  (not 
an  army  ration)  that  we  bought,  and  other  luxuries, 
— "who  wouldn't  be  a  soger?"  Our  stove  worked 
admirably,  and  with  plenty  of  blankets,  table,  stools, 
&c.,  the  sergeants'  tent  of  Company  A  was  as  com- 
plete and  comfortable  as  the  ingenuity  of  its  occu- 
pants could  make  it. 

As  time  went  on,  Christmas,  1861,  dawned  on  us 
still  at  Camp  Hicks.      Inspection  in  the  forenoon,     r""' 
and  a  holiday  in  the  afternoon.      Cards  and  pipes 


44  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

are  in  the  ascendant  to-day.     It  is  plain  to  see  that 

coffee,  cards  and  tobacco  are  the  three  great  essen- 

January. 

tials  to  a  soldier's  life. 

A  few  days  before  Christmas  we  had  a  pay-day, 
Ftrst    at  which   Greenbacks  made  their  first  appearance  ; 

Green- 
backs.   and  Gold  made  its  last  appearance  to  the  soldier  in 

January,  1862. 

January  i,  1862,  the  New  Year  was  ushered  in 
by  a  snow  squall.  January  2d,  at  brigade  drill,  we 
had  a  sort  of  mimic  battle,  and  Company  A  acted  as 

New 

Year,    skirmishers,  using  blank  cartridges.     The  Company 
received  some  praise  for  its  good  work. 

On  Saturday,  January  4th,  we  received  orders  to 

strike  tents  Monday  morning,  so  at  six  o'clock  A.  M. 

of  that  day,  we  turned  out,  and  the  tents  were  struck. 

It  had  snowed  during  the  night,  and  the  snow  was 

still  falling  as  the  line  was  formed  ;  it  seemed  quite 

like  a  New  England  winter  morning.      After  firing 

Goodbye  2L  parting  salute  we  marched  away  from  Camp  Hicks, 

to   amp  Wj1jcj1  hac[  Deen  our  home  for  two  months.     Reach - 

Hicks. 

ing  Annapolis  we  went,  after  much  delay,  on  board 
the  steamer  New  York.  Company  I,  Capt.  Park- 
hurst,  went  on  board  the  schooner  Skirmisher  ; 
companies  D  and  H  on  board  the  gunboat  Zouave ; 
and  the  New  York  took  the  other  seven  companies 


2$th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  45 

of  the  Regiment.    When  all  was  ready  on  board  the 


New  York,  the  steamer  pushed  out  a  mile  or  so  into 
the  stream  and  came  to  anchor.  We  now  had  time 
to  look  around  us,  and  a  busy  scene  it  was  to  gaze 
upon.  The  sleepy  old  town  of  Annapolis  had  not 
ssen  so  much  life  in  a  century.  Large  numbers  of 
vessels  of  all  descriptions, — steamers,  sailing  craft, 
tugboats,  moving  about  in  all  directions ;  others  at 
the  various  landings,  loading  or  unloading, — all  com- 
bined to  make  a  busy  picture  such  as  the  old  town 
will  not  see  for  another  century.  This  was  the 
preparation  for  the  famous  Burnside  Expedition. 


CHAPTER    IV. 


THE  BURNSIDE  EXPEDITION. 


_  JT  WAS  NOT  until  about  8  A.  M.  of  January  gth, 
1862.  1862,  that  the  Burnside  Expedition  finally  left  the 
Jan.  9.  old  town  of  Annapolis,  and  moved  grandly  out  into 


Sailing  tjie  waters  Of  Chesapeake   Bay,  the  steamer  New 

of  the 

Brunswick,  with  Gen.   Foster  and  staff  on  board, 


the  lead  ;  the  New  York,  with  the  Twenty- 
fifth  Massachusetts,  being  second  in  line.  Gen. 
Burnside  modestly  took  the  small  steamer  Picket 
for  his  headquarters.  There  were  over  one  hundred 
vessels  in  the  expedition,  and  a  grander  sight  could 
hardly  be  imagined  than  was  presented  as  it  sailed 
away  from  Annapolis  town.  Numbers  of  the  steam- 
ers had  sailing  vessels  in  tow,  and  the  New  York 
had  an  old  canal  boat  towing  astern,  which  bore  the 
ominous  name  of  Bomb  Shell.  It  was  one  of  the 
fairest  of  fair  days,  and  with  flags  and  streamers  fly- 
ing, bands  playing,  and  soldiers  cheering,  it  seemed 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  47 

more  like  a  monster  holiday  excursion  than  the  start-   

r     .       .,  -,.  .  1862. 

mg  of  a  hostile  expedition. 

There  had  been,  of  course,  much  surmising  about 
the  destination  of  the  expedition,  and  all  sorts  of 
guesses  were  made,  but  nothing  definite  was  known 
in  regard  to  it  excepting  that  we  were  to  rendezvous 
at  Fortress  Monroe.  On  the  steamer  New  York, 
Company  A  occupied  the  upper  cabin  forward  ;  the 
sergeants  occupying  a  state  room  close  by.  The 
morning  was  rainy,  but  in  the  afternoon  it  cleared 
away  and  we  had  a  good  part  of  the  fleet  in  sight, 
sailing  in  a  long  line,  each  vessel  in  its  proper  place. 
Evening  came  on  clear  and  bright  with  a  beautiful 
moonlight,  but  a  heavy  fog  afterwards  arose,  and  we 
came  to  anchor  near  the  mouth  of  the  Potomac  and 
remained  there  all  night. 

The  morning  of  January  loth  opened  heavy  with 
fog,  but  it  cleared  up  about  nine,  and  we  proceeded 
on  our  way.  Soon  Fortress  Monroe  was  in  sight,  , 

*  Monroe. 

with  a  crowd  of  vessels ;  and  as  we  came  nearer  we 
passed  several  American  men  of  war,  the  Minnesota, 
Jamestown,  Roanoke,  and  one  Frenchman.  The 
jolly  tars  greeted  us  with  rousing  cheers  from  the 
rigging  of  their  vessels  as  we  passed,  to  which  we 
responded  most  heartily.  About  noon  we  anchored 
7 


48  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

in  Hampton  Roads.    This,  then,  was  the  grand  ren- 
dezvous for  the  Burnside  Expedition. 

From  the  decks  of  the  steamboat  could  be  seen 

the    ruins    of    Hampton    Village     burned     by    the 

Evidences  rebels,  and  near  by,  the  old  Fortress  looking  very 

r'  quiet  but  showing  some  ugly  teeth  in  the  shape  of 

big  guns,  and  a  large  number  of  them.      Opposite 

the  Fort  is  Sewall's  Point  and  the  Rip-Raps,  while 

Norfolk  is  not  far  away.     Some  distance  in  the  rear 

of  Fortress  Monroe  we  saw  tents  and  barracks,  which 

denoted  large  bodies  of  soldiers  gathered  here. 
4 

It  was  about  noon  of  January  i2th,  1862,  that  the 

fleet  of  Burnside  sailed  from  Fortress  Monroe, 
and  passing  between  Capes  Charles  and  Henry, 
soon  headed  south  ;  and  many  were  talking  of  the 
Carolina  coast  as  the  destination  of  the  expedition. 
The  wind  blew  quite  fresh  as  we  passed  out  of  the 
Coast  bay  into  the  Atlantic,  and  it  was  interesting  to  see 
Voyage.  jlow  some  sailing  vessels  went  past  us,  and  in  a  very 
short  time.  Keeping  the  coast  in  sight  we  pushed 
on  till  dark  when  we  came  to  anchor,  and  on  the 
morning  of  the  I3th  hastened  on,  with  an  angry  sky 
over  us  and  a  heavy  sea  tossing  us  about,  and 
causing  many  of  the  soldiers  to  pay  the  customary 
tribute  to  old  Neptune.  Still  keeping  in  sight  of 


2$th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  49 

land,  we  steamed  on  rounding  Cape  Hatteras,  and  in 


the  early  afternoon  reached  Hatteras  Inlet.  A  small 
tug-boat,  dancing  on  the  waves  like  a  cork,  met  us 
near  the  entrance  to  the  Inlet ;  we  followed  close  in 
its  wake,  and  were  soon  safely  anchored  in  the  waters 
of  Pamlico  Sound,  in  close  proximity  to  a  rebel  earth- 
work known  as  Fort  Clark,  which  had  been  captured 
by  Butler.  Meantime  the  storm  had  burst  upon  us, 
and  was  now  raging  turiously ;  and  we  considered 
ourselves  fortunate  in  getting  in  as  we  did.  The 
vessels  of  the  fleet  came  in  rapidly  like  frightened 
sea-birds  before  the  tempest  blast,  and  we  began  to 
be  crowded  here  at  our  anchorage  ground.  We  saw 
a  large  ocean  steamer  attempt  to  enter  the  Inlet, 
strike  on  the  bar  outside,  and  sink.  Tug-boats  were 
sent  to  her  assistance  but  could  render  none,  and 
there  she  remained  till  next  day  when  boats  were 
again  sent  out  and  succeeded  in  bringing  off  the 
crew  of  the  steamer,  which  proved  to  be  the  City  of 
New  York.  The  vessel  and  cargo  were  a  total  loss. 
It  was  certainly  a  wild  picture  to  look  upon.  In 
every  direction  the  waves  were  running  high,  and  Gloomy 
tossing  the  vessels  about  in  the  wildest  confusion  ; 
and, night  settled  down  over  the  scene  with  an  in- 
creasing fury  in  the  howling  storm.  Few  turned 


50  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

in  that  night  without  gloomy   forebodings  for  the 

1862. 

morrow. 

Tuesday,  January  i4th,  found,  as  was  anticipated, 
an  increasing  tempest,  and  the  vessels  of  the  fleet 
all  too  close  together  for  safety.  This  morning  a 
Great  steamer  came  crashing  down  upon  us,  running  her 
bows  into  the  afterpart  of  the  New  York,  and  ripping 
clean  off  one  side  of  the  after  cabin  in  which  our 
band  slept,  making  it  lively  for  them  for  a  few  min- 
utes. Soon  after,  another  steamer  came  thumping 
away  at  our  bows,  smashing  things  ;  and  between 
the  two  the  old  New  York  was  pretty  badly  used. 
The  night  before,  the  gunboat  Zouave,  having  on 
board  two  companies  of  the  Twenty-fifth  Regiment, 
got  to  thumping  on  her  own  anchor — as  report  has 
it — jammed  a  hole  in  her  bottom,  and  this  morning; 

Disasters.  J 

sunk.  The  men  were  taken  off,  but  boat  and  cargo 
were  lost.  Signals  of  distress  were  flying  in  all  di- 
rections, and  it  looked  bad  for  Burnside's  fleet.  Be- 
sides, it  was  reported  that  there  was  a  bar  inside 
which  had  only  seven  and  a  half  feet  of  water  on  it, 
and  our  largest  vessels,  of  which  the  New  York  was 
one,  drew  over  eight  feet.  Things  looked  dark 
enough  now,  certainly. 


2$th  Regt. ,  Mass.  Vols.  5 1 

January  i5th  the  storm  still  continued,  and  we 


had  a  gunboat  alongside  us  grinding  up  the  fancy 
work  on  the  old  New  York,  but  doing  no  great  dam- 
age. To-day  we  noticed  several  soldiers  were  buried 
on  the  sandy  shore,  waves  and  winds  making  wild 
funeral  music.  Jan.  i6th  the  colonel  and  surgeon  of 
the  Ninth  New  Jersey  were  drowned  by  the  upsetting c  tinued 
of  their  boat.  The  storm  continued  to  rage  on  the  Disaster. 
1 7th,  and  the  steamer  Suwanee  got  aground,  and 
one  schooner  sunk.  January  :8th,  we  counted  120 
vessels  in  the  inlet,  all  badly  crowded  in  this  dis- 
mal, god-forsaken  hole.  Gen.  Burnside  came  along 
to-day,  looking  as  cheerful  as  if  all  was  going  well. 
A  wonderful  courage  that  man  must  have  had. 

The  storm  at  last  subsided,  and  it  was  very  fort- 
unate, for  our   rations  were   running-  low.      Hard 

abates. 

bread,  the  great  staple,  held  out,  and  coffee,  too, 
though  the  daily  allowance  of  each  was  short. 
Worst  of  all  the  water  gave  out,  and  a  heavy  rain 
was  a  godsend  ;  for  all  of  the  rain  water  that  could 
be  caught  was  saved  in  barrels  by  the  steamboat 
officers,  and  stolen — a  great  deal  of  it —  by  the  sol- 
diers of  the  Twenty-fifth.  We  had  a  nice  way  of 
filling  our  canteens  from  the  water  casks  of  the 
steamboat.  Before  leaving  Worcester  our  too  kind 


5  2  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

friends   had   provided   many    of  the    soldiers    with 

"drinking  tubes,"  a  new  thing — patented  of  course 
— possessing  wonderful  properties.  It  consisted  of 
a  small  flexible  rubber  tube,  perhaps  two  and  a  half 
feet  long,  with  a  mouth-piece  at  one  end  and  a  mar- 
Patent  velous  patent  strainer  or  filter  at  the  other.  Place 
Drinking tne  strainer  in  the  muddiest  of  ditch  water,  insert 
the  mouth-piece  between  the  lips  of  the  thirsty  sol- 
dier, and  by  applying  the  science  of  suction,  from 
the  most  stagnant  and  slimy  pool  nothing  but  the 
purest  cool  spring  water  would  be  drawn  into  the 
soldier's  stomach.  Consequently  no  sickness  would 
arise  from  drinking  any  water  found  on  the  marches. 
Consequently  a  great  number  of  lives  would  be  pre- 
served, millions  of  money  saved,  the  strength  of  the 
Union  armies  increased,  and  the  Rebellion  crushed 
a  great  deal  quicker.  Consequently  every  soldier 
should  have  one  in  his  knapsack,  and  all  for  the 
trifling  sum  of  twenty-five  cents.  It  is  difficult  to 
estimate  how  much  sooner  the  Rebellion  would  have 
been  quelled  if  all  the  Union  soldiers  had  been  sup- 
plied with  drinking  tubes.  I  never  saw  the  tubes 
used  save  on  one  march  ;  some  half  dozen  soldiers 
attempted  to  use  them,  but  the  effort  was  a  failure ; 
and  they  whirled  the  tubes  into  the  bushes,  with 


25th  Regt-,  Mass.  Vols.  53 

the  remark  :  "Damn  the  things,"  an  expression  too   

1862. 

common  among  the  soldiers.     However,  the  drink- 
ing tubes  worked  well  in   filling  canteens  from  the 
water  casks  of  the  steamboat ;  by  inserting  one  end  in-    ...^ 
to  the  bunghole  of  the  barrel,  and  getting  the  water   water. 
started  we  had  a  very  good  syphon,  and  the  canteens 
were  filled  quickly,   and  what  was  better,  without 
noise.    As  the  water  got  low  in  the  barrel,  we  added 
another  length  of  "drinking  tube";  and  in  this  way 
we  obtained  fresh  water  until  the  discovery  of  the 
trick  put  an  end  to  that  little  scheme. 

We  had  at  last  to  resort  to  water  distilled  from 
salt  water.  This  was  done  on  the  gunboats.  It  was 
warm  and  sickish  when  first  obtained,  though  quite 
palatable  when  cold.  As  the  storm  subsided  boats 
got  along  with  rations,  and  we  fared  better  during 
our  stay  at  Hatteras. 

On  the  2ist  of  January,  private  Tucker  of  Com- 
pany B,  died  and  was  buried  ashore.     On  the  28th 
comrade  George  E.  Curtis  of  Company  A  died.    He 
was  sent  to  the  Hospital  Ship,  and  died  there.  This 
was  the  first  death  in  Company  A.    He  was  twenty-    Death 
one  years  old,  of  a  quiet,   retiring  disposition,  and    in  the 
his  loss  was  keenly  felt  by  his  tentmates.     He  was        a> 
buried  in  a  little  church  yard  about  three  miles  from 
us,  and  his  grave  marked  with  a  wooden  slab. 


54  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

Life  on  the  steamer  New  York  was  not,  to  draw 

it  mild,  of  the  most  enjoyable  sort.     Eight  hundred 

soldiers  with  all  their  traps,  on  one  steamboat  (al- 

though ours  was  a  large  one)  was  crowding  things  ; 

and  add  to  that  the  terrible  stormy  weather,  running 

Monotony  short  of  rations,  water  giving  out,  and  other  incon- 

on  the    veniences>  it  was  indeed  a  tedious  life  ;  and  all  sorts 

New  York 

of  expedients  were  resorted  to  in  the  endeavor  to 
wear  away  the  time.  In  the  officers'  quarters  they 
got  up  theatricals  with  songs,  music,  etc.,  while  the 
private  soldiers  amused  themselves  by  writing  letters 
home,  reading,  smoking,  playing  cards,  and  stealing 
from  the  sutler.  Lieut.  McConville  came  into  the 
quarters  of  the  men  occasionally,  and  with  Private 
Fairbanks  of  Company  A,  sung  many  songs  which 
gave  great  delight  to  the  boys  and  were  fully  ap- 
preciated by  them.  January  25th  they  began  to  get 
Passage  vessels  over  the  bar,  the  lighter  ones  crossing  with- 


the  Qut  mucn  trouble.    This  is  a  great  place  for  wrecks. 

Bar. 

We  counted  thirteen  between  Cape  Hatteras  and  the 
Inlet  as  we  passed  along,  and  we  added  to  the 
number.  The  ill-fated  steamer,  City  of  New  York, 
went  to  pieces  to-day,  and  a  large  number  of  casks 
of  powder  came  floating  by  us  from  her  wreck,  and 
were  picked  up  by  the  crew  of  our  steamer. 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  55 

On  the  22nd  of  January  we  steamed  about  a  quar- 


ter of  a  mile  further  into  the  bay  to  escape  the  crowd- 
ing of  the  vessels,  and  to  prepare  to  cross  the  bar. 
In  a  dark  night  to  look  out  on  the  fleet  around  us    Night 
was  like  looking  at  a  factory  village  in  the  evening, 
the  large  vessels  appearing  like  cotton  mills  lighted 
up.     We  were  lying  near  the  Northerner,  with  the 
Twenty-first  Massachusetts  on  board ;  and  a  day  or 
two  after  she  swung  around  and  gave  us  a  pretty 
smart  raking.     Our  rations  run  short  again,  and  a 
supper  of  hard-tack  and  brakish  water  is  not,  to  say 
the  least,  like  the  supper  at  the  Philadelphia  Cooper 
Shop.     But  soldiers  make  merry  over  such  things, 
and  Old  Posey  said  grace  over  our  dinner  of  a  few 
hard-tack  :    "We    thank    thee,    Oh    Quartermaster 
Brown,  for  the  bountiful  supply  of  hard-tack  thou 
hast  seen  fit  to  bestow  upon  us,  but  for  God's  sake 
sprinkle  in  a  little  soft  bread  with  it,  or  there  wont 
be  a  tooth  left  in  the  Twenty-fifth  Regiment." 

Our  Orderly  was  a  man  of  varied  talents.  He 
had  been  a  great  reader  in  his  day,  and  was  pos- 
sessed of  one  of  those  frightful  memories  that  retain 
everything  they  once  grasp.  In  his  younger  days 
he  came  under  the  notice  of  Old  Doctor  John  Green 
of  Worcester,  who  took  an  interest  in  him,  and  gave 

8 


56  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

him  the  run  of  his  library.     Johnson  profited  by  this, 

and  would  talk  about  and  quote  from  books  of  which 
probably  nine-tenths  of  the  regiment  had  never 
heard.  He  would  repeat  whole  chapters  from  the 
Bible,  and  many  poems.  Old  Posey  had  a  great 
talent  with  his  pencil,  and  fairly  reveled  in  carica- 
ture ;  and  while  at  Annapolis  made  drawings  of  sev- 
eral of  the  officers  of  the  Regiment,  very  nicely  exe- 
cuted, but  a  slight  touch  of  his  pencil  converted  them 
Old  into  broad  burlesques.  One  day  on  the  steamer 

Posers 

habits.  New  York,  while  at  Hatteras  Inlet,  he  got  hold  of 
a  sermon  by  Rev.  Mr.  Cutler  of  Worcester,  entitled 
"The  Right  of  the  Sword."  He  gave  it  a  very 
careful  reading,  pronounced  it  "a  pretty  damned 
good  thing,"  and  went  to  playing  the  game  of  sol- 
taire  with  his  greasy  old  pack  of  cards,  which  kept 
him  quiet  for  hours.  Old  Posey  was  a  mixture  of 
queer  materials,  rough  outside,  but  a  kind  heart 
within.  He  was  greatly  addicted  to  smoking,  card 
playing,  Bible  reading,  and  profanity.  We  shall  see 
him  at  Cold  Harbor. 

On  the  26th  of  January  we  went  on  board  the 
small  steamer  Pilot  Boy,  and  were  taken  to  the  ferry 
boat  Eagle,  where  we  spent  a  few  days  'of  wretched- 
ness, with  little  to  eat,  and  crowded  almost  beyond 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  57 

endurance.     We  could  only  anxiously  wait  for  the 


New  York  to  be  worked  over  the  bar  that  we  might 
return  to  our  old  quarters.  An  incident  occurred 
on  the  Eagle  at  this  time — incidents  are  always  oc- 
curring in  a  soldier's  life — that  was  quite  amusing. 

Our  sutler  (H.  O.  Clark)  had  left  a  barrel  of  sugar  A  stray 
on  board  the  New  York,  and  strange  to  say,  there 
seemed  to  be  no  one  to  look  after  it.  Consequently 
it  was  removed  with  the  soldiers  and  their  traps  to 
the  Eagle — a  very  bad  place  to  put  a  barrel  of  sugar. 
It  was  discovered  at  once  by  the  boys,  the  barrel 
head  was  knocked  in,  tin  cups  appeared  as  by  magic, 
and  in  a  "short  space  of  period"  as  the  boys  would 
say,  an  empty  sugar  barrel  was  tossed  into  the  sea ; 
and  every  haversack  on  the  boat  was  puffed  out  with 
its  sweet  contents.  Soldiers  always  know  how  to 
take  advantage  of  circumstances — this  was  a  circum- 
stance. This  barrel  of  sugar  was  quite  a  find  for  us. 
We  used  \£>  find  %.  great  many  things  just  this  way. 
Stealing  ?  Oh  no  ;  it  was  considered  perfectly  square 
to  find  things  from  the  sutler.  He  got  it  all  back, 
and  more  too,  in  his  charges  for  what  honest  soldiers 
bought  of  him.  It  was  a  common  case  of  "Now  you 
see  jt,  and  now  you  don't," — this  sugar  business — a 
law,  by  the  way,  that  always  worked  well  in  the 


58  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

army.     Solids  or  liquids,  it  made  no  difference — all 

went  well.  This  find  of  sugar  lasted  us  a  few  days. 
It  is  a  fact,  however,  that  with  all  our  watchfulness 
and  care,  we  never  found  another  barrel  of  sugar. 

Saturday,  February  ist,  the  New  York  was,  after 

a  deal  of  trouble,  dragged  across  the  bar,  and  we 

Return   returned  to  our  old  quarters  on  board.     The  bunks 

to        in  the  center  of  the  cabin  had  been  taken  down   in 

New  York 

our  absence,  and  the  men  were  now  obliged  to  sleep 
on  the  floor. 

On  the  3d  of  February  the  scene  changed  entirely 
from  a  disheartening,  to  a  decidedly  encouraging 
one.  The  wind  had  gone  down,  and  the  seas  were 
calm,  vessels  all  across  the  bar,  decks  crowded  with 
soldiers,  and  everything  ready  for  business.  The 
morning  of  February  5th  broke  calm  and  pleasant ; 
the  sun,  rising  clear  and  beautiful,  shed  a  radiant 
light  over  the  fleet  of  Burnside,  the  dreary  sands  of 
Hatteras,  and  the  stormy  seas  on  which  we  had 
tossed  so  long.  Far  out  at  sea  a  solitary  sail,  a 
mere  speck  in  the  distance,  was  working  its  way 
northward,  while  nearer,  but  outside  the  Inlet,  the 
big  waves  were  rolling  in  and  breaking  on  the 
sandy  shore,  leaving  long  lines  and  patches  of  white 
foam.  Meanwhile  all  was  excitement  in  the  Inlet. 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  59 

At  8  o'clock,  A.  M.,  the  fleet  was  getting  under  way   

1862. 
with  bands  playing  and  flags  flying.     The  gunboats 

took  the  lead,  followed  first  by  the  New  Brunswick 
with  the  Tenth  Connecticut  on  board,  and  second 
by  the  New  York  with  the  Twenty-fifth  Massachu- 
setts, having  three  schooners  in  tow.  The  fleet  con-  e 

moves. 

sisted  of  some  thirty  gunboats,  nine  or  ten  steamers 
with  troops  on  board,  and  numerous  sailing  vessels, 
perhaps  sixty  to  seventy-five  all  told.  Each  vessel 
had  its  counterpart  or  image  in  the  water  below,  and 
the  whole  scene,  bathed  in  the  rosy  light  of  morning, 
formed  a  singularly  beautiful  picture,  never  before 
witnessed  by  any  of  those  present,  and  unlikely  to 
be  again  during  a  lifetime.  It  was  in  striking  con- 
trast to  the  days  of  wretchedness  we  had  so  lately 
passed  in  this  same  spot.  Thus,  after  a  tedious  de- 
lay of  twenty-three  days,  the  Burnside  Expedition 
was  once  more  on  the  move  and  about  to  take  the 
aggressive. 

The  fleet  sailed  slowly  along,  and  certainly  a  more 
magnificent  sight  was  never  before  seen  on  this  side 
of  the  Atlantic.  The  waves  as  though  tired  out  with 
the  struggle  of  the  past  three  weeks,  had  quieted 
down,  and  we  were  gliding  along  as  peacefully  over 
the  waters  of  this  inland  sea  as  if  its  surface  had 


60  The  Story  of  Company  A. 
never  been  disturbed  by  other  than  the  gentlest  of 

QC/* 

breezes.  Thus  the  hours  passed  till  about  two  in 
the  afternoon,  when  the  fleet  came  to  anchor  half 
way  to  Roanoke  Island,  the  transports  together,  with 
the  gunboats  outside  as  protection  for  the  fleet.  We 
had  orders  to  land  in  light  marching  order,  that  is, 
without  knapsacks  ;  and  at  night  the  lights  were  put 
out  or  concealed.  The  night  was  beautiful,  clear 
and  quiet ;  and  from  the  other  steamers  we  heard 
the  low  strains  of  music,  and  voices  singing — 

"On  the  other  side  of  Jordan," 
and 

"There  is  rest  for  the  weary." 

"It  may  be  the  last  night's  rest  for  some  of  us, — no 
doubt  we  may  be  on  the  other  side  of  Jordan  ;  but 
what  is  the  use  ?  We  will  pass  this  night  in  quiet  if 
possible,  and  let  what  follows  take  care  of  itself." 
This  was  a  soldier's  reasoning. 

About  8  A.  M.  of  February  6th  the  fleet  started 
again  in  the  same  order  as  before,  the  gunboats 
taking  the  lead.  It  clouded  up  just  after  sunrise, 
and  rained  quite  steadily  till  noon,  when  we  anchored 
again  with  Roanoke  Island  in  sight  ahead.  In  the 

Roanoke      o 

.  afternoon  a  tugboat  came  alongside  and  reported 


25th  Regt.<  Mass.  I'ols.  61 

that  the  gunboat  Ranger  was  ordered  into  action, 


and  that  we  must  make  room  for  fifty  men  of  the 
Twenty-seventh  Regiment  who  were  on  board.  Our 
gunboats  had  discovered  the  Rebel  fleet,  so  that 
there  was  to  be  work  upon  the  water  as  well  as  on 
the  land.  Soon  after  the  Ranger  came  alongside 
and  left  two  hundred  men  instead  of  fifty,  all  belong- 
ing to  the  Twenty-seventh.  This  made  over  nine 
hundred  men  on  our  good  old  steamer.  We  re- 
mained here  all  night. 

February  yth  opened  with  a  fog,   but  it  cleared 
away  about  nine.     Gen.  Foster  came  up  in  the  little     G 
steamer  Picket,   and  addressing  Col.   Upton,   said  :  Foster's 
"Be  ready  to  start  at  any  moment.     We  shall  move 
up  to  the  Island  and  give  you  all  a  chance  to  witness 
the  bombardment.     Then  we  shall  land  and  clean 
out  those  fellows  at  once."     This  was  received  with 
the  wildest  cheering,  and  soon  after  we  moved  on 
towards  Roanoke  Island. 


CHAPTER    V, 


THE  BATTLE  OF  ROANOKE. 

DEFENSES  of  the  Island,  it  was  reported, 
1862.  consisted  of  Fort  Huger,  Fort  Blanchard  and 
Fort  Bartow,  all  on  the  western  shore  of  Roanoke. 
The  first,  with  twelve  guns,  was  near  the  northern 
end  of  the  Island  ;  and  next  in  order  Fort  Blanchard 
Defenses  witn  three  guns.  Still  farther  to  the  south,  and  per- 
hiand  naPs  nearly  midway  of  the  Island,  was  Fort  Bartow 
with  ten  guns.  From  near  this  point  to  the  main 
land  of  North  Carolina  a  line  of  piles  or  sunken  ships 
extended,  and  behind  or  north  of  these  defenses 
was  the  rebel  fleet  consisting  of  eight  small  vessels 
with  ten  or  twelve  guns  all  told.  The  water  between 
Roanoke  Island  and  the  main  land  is  known  as 
Croatan  Sound.  About  midway,  and  running  length- 
wise of  the  Island,  was  the  regular  road  ;  and  near 
the  center  of  the  Island  was  a  three-gun  battery 


Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  63 

which  was  flanked  on  either  side  by  swamps  sup- 


posed to  be  impassable.  The  guns  of  this  battery 
perfectly  commanded  the  road,  which  was  the  only 
way,  apparently,  to  the  northern  end  of  the  Island, 
where  were  the  camps  of  the  Rebels.  Here,  then, 
was  the  work  to  be  done :  the  fleet  to  silence  the 
forts  and  destroy  the  Rebel  vessels ;  the  army  to 
land  and  clean  out  the  Island.* 

The  transports  came  to  anchor  just  off  the  place 
known  as  Ashby's  Landing,  and  we  had  a  splendid 
chance  to  witness  the  whole  affair.  We  watched 
with  eager  interest  our  gunboats  as  they  took  their 
positions  apparently  in  easy  range  of  the  Rebel 
forts,  and  not  a  gun  fired,  when  suddenly  there  was  Attack 
a  puff  of  smoke  from  one  of  our  gunboats,  a  report 
showing  a  heavy  gun  had  been  fired,  and  the  bom- 
bardment of  Roanoke  Island  was  begun.  This  was 
about  half-past  eleven  on  the  morning  of  February 
7th.  The  first  shot  struck  the  Rebel  earthwork 
squarely,  and  an  explosion  quickly  followed  throw- 
ing up  smoke  and  dirt,  showing  that  the  shot  had 
done  its  work.  The  fort  promptly  replied,  and  as 

*  Roanoke  Island,  from  this  distance,  fiad  the  appearance  for  the  most 
part  of  being  well  wooded,  with  but  one  house  in  sight,  or  rather  one  house 
with  a  small  out-building  in  the  rear.  These  were  near  what  was  called 
Ashby's  landing,  which  was  the  point  where  we  expected  to  land. 

9 


64  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

the  gunboats,  one  after  another,  came  into  action, 

we  had  passing  before  our  eyes  a  scene  such  as  we 
all  had  undoubtedly  read  of,  but  probably  what  few 
of  us  had  ever  witnessed — a  bombardment. 

The  movements  of  a  little  sloop  were  watched  by 

The  bom-  * 

bardmen!.d\\  with  great  interest.  It  had  one  gun  only,  said 
to  be  a  hundred  pounder.  It  sailed  in  a  circle  and 
put  a  shot  into  the  Rebel  fort  every  time  on  its 
nearest  approach  to  it.  It  was  an  exciting  scene ; 
the  gunboats  firing  so  slowly  and  yet  so  surely, 
every  shot  seeming  to  tell  on  the  fort,  while  the 
enemy's  fire,  much  more  rapid,  appeared  to  have  no 
effect  whatever  on  the  fleet.  May  be  the  range  was 
too  great,  or  perhaps  bad  gunnery  was  the  reason  ; 
but,  so  far  as  we  could  see,  little  damage  was  done 
to  the  Union  gunboats.  Thus  the  battle  went  on. 
We  moved  up  nearer  to  the  scene  of  conflict  and 
had  a  still  better  view  of  the  engagement.  The 
gunboats  were  now  firing  much  more  rapidly  than 
at  the  commencement,  and  the  fort  was  apparently 
about  silenced,  when  suddenly  great  clouds  of  smoke 
rolled  up  from  it,  showing  that  the  interior  was  on 
fire.  At  this  cheers  went  up  from  every  vessel  of 
the  Union  fleet,  and  the  gunboats  kept  firing  with 
the  greatest  rapidity. 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  65 

The  Rebel  fleet  meantime  we  had  heard  nothing  

1862. 
of;  a  weak  demonstration  attempted  towards  the 

last  of  the  bombardment  was  quickly  repulsed  by  a 
few  shots  from  the  Union  gunboats. 

About  3  P.  M.  we  were  ordered  to  land,  and  the 
Twenty-fifth  Regiment  went  from  the  New  York  on    Orders 

*  to  land. 

board  the  Pilot  Boy,  and  towing  a  long  line  of  boats 
filled  with  men,  moved  slowly  towards  the  land. 
We  had  seen  the  glitter  of  Rebel  bayonets  as  we 
left  the  New  York,  and  all  expected  a  volley  as  we 
approached  the  land,  but  a  few  shells  from  our  gun- 
boat, Delaware,  sent  the  Rebels  "kiting,"  and  we 
received  not  a  single  shot  from  them  while  landing. 
When  the  Pilot  Boy  approached  the  land  as  near  as 
was  possible,  the  boys  were  transferred  to  boats 
alongside,  which  were  quickly  filled.  The  desire  to 
go  in  the  first  boats  was  so  great,  it  was  only  by 
repeated  orders  from  Capt.  Pickett  himself  that  those 
who  were  to  stay  behind  could  be  kept  quiet ;  and 
all  were  promised,  "you  shall  go  in  the  next  boats." 
Capt.  Pickett,  Orderly  George  A.  Johnson  and  the 
right  of  the  Company  were  in  the  first  boats.  At 
the  same  time  the  long  line  of  boats  astern  sep- 
arated, and  all  made  for  the  shore.  It  was  an  ex- 
citing time,  and  we  watched  anxiously  to  see  who 


66  The  Story  of  Company  A. 
would  reach  land  first.     The  boats  containing  the 

QC_ 

Company  A  boys  had  the  advantage  and  touched 
ground  first,  but  it  was  the  muddy  bottom,  not  dry 
land ;  but  no  sooner  had  the  boats  struck  ground 
than  the  men  were  in  the  water  wading  for  the  shore. 
Capt.  Pickett  was  the  first  man  in  the  water.  We 
could  see  from  the  Pilot  Boy  the  men  holding  up 
their  rifles  and  cartridge  boxes  to  keep  them  from 
Landing  gettmg  wet-  Capt.  Pickett  and  George  A.  Johnson, 
on  the  our  Orderly  Sergeant,  were  the  first  to  stand  on  dry 
land  ;*  and  we  who  were  left  behind  on  the  old  Pilot 
Boy  made  the  air  ring  with  cheers  for  the  pony 
Captain  of  Company  A.  Thus,  February  7th,  1862, 
we  scored  one  for  the  old  Company,  as  Captain 
Josiah  Pickett  and  Orderly  Sergeant  George  A. 
Johnson  were  the  first  men  of  the  Burnside  Expedi- 
tion to  stand  on  Roanoke  Island. 

The  boats  returning  (the  distance  was  but  a  few 
rods),  a  sort  of  bridge  was  made  of  them,  and  the 

*  It  has  been  claimed  that  Lieut.  Andrew  of  the  Ninth  New  York,  in 
reconnoitring  for  a  landing  place  for  the  troops,  took  soundings  to  the  shore 
of  Roanoke,  and  actually  stood  on  the  Island.  Of  the  correctness  of  this 
report  I  cannot  judge.  It  is  also  said  that  the  Lieut,  was  fired  on  and  sev- 
eral of  his  boat's  crew  (5th  R.  I.)  wounded.  All  of  this  may  be  true  so  far 
as  I  know;  but  I  simply  claim  what  we  all  saw — that  at  the  landing  Q{  troops 
on  the  yth  of  February,  Capt.  Pickett  and  Orderly  Sergeant  Johnson  of  Co. 
A,  Twenty-fifth  Mass,  werey?™/  to  land  on  the  Island. 


Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  67 

soldiers  eot  ashore  much  faster  and  with  dry  clothes.   

1862. 
The  Company  was  quickly  formed  and  deployed  as 

skirmishers.  The  house  we  had  seen  from  the 
steamer  was  surrounded  and  the  door  burst  open.  . 
The  occupants  had  fled,  but  a  fire  was  blazing  upon 
the  hearth,  the  table  stood  loaded  with  dishes,  and 
everything  denoted  a  hasty  departure.  Behind  the 
house  was  a  smaller  one,  evidently  the  servants' 
quarters.  This  was  much  in  the  same  condition  "as 
the  first,  not  a  human  being  to  be  found.  In  a  small 
out-building  we  found  fresh  bread  and  a  pan  of  milk; 
this  was  a  prize,  and  in  a  few  minutes  both  bread 
and  milk  had  vanished,  and  we  left  the  place  think- 
ing how  nicely  everything  works  in  for  a  soldier. 

It  was  now  growing  dark,  and  we  prepared  to 
bivouac.  It  began  to  rain  later,  but  our  fires  burnt  Soldiers 
cheerily,  and  the  boys  brought  along  rails  to  replen- 
ish them,  and  all  sorts  of  things  to  eat.  How  nicely 
rails  work  in  for  fires — just  the  right  size  and  so  dry  ! 
And  then  the  fact  is,  soldiers  are  always  hungry, 
and  it  is  part  of  a  soldier's  duty  to  bring  in  to  his 
squad  round  the  bivouac  fire  something  in  the  way 
of  rations,  and  nothing  comes  amiss  that  can  be 
eaten  or  drank,  or  in  any  way  used  for  the  comfort 
of  the  squad.  One  brought  a  chunk  of  salt  pork — 


68  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

good  ;  another,  onions — good  again  ;  another  cab- 
bages ;  another,  an  old  iron  kettle.  Corporal  Jaalam 
Gates  brought  a  back-load  of  sweet  potatoes.  It 
seems  the  Corporal  had  found  a  lot  of  potatoes,  and 

Timely 

supplies,  no  way  to  "tote"  them  along.  He  quickly  took  off 
his  drawers,  tied  up  the  legs,  filled  them  with  the 
coveted  potatoes,  and  brought  them  on  his  back  to 
our  bivouac  amid  the  shouts  of  the  boys  as  he  made 
his- appearance.  So  with  roasting  potatoes  in  the 
ashes,  boiling  them  with  pork  and  cabbage  in  our 
kettle,  and  making  our  coffee  in  our  tin  cups  over 
the  rail  fire,  we  managed  to  get  up  quite  a  supper ; 
and  we  were  feeling  very  comfortable  in  spite  of 
the  rain,  when,  about  nine  P.  M.,  we  were  startled 
by  the  hoarse  cry  of  the  Orderly,  "Fall  in,  Company 
A;  fall  in."  We  are  quickly  in  line,  and  file  off 
directly  into  the  forest  which  surrounds  the  little 

Midnight  ciearmcr  where  we  landed.     We  steal  along  rapidly 

Recon- 
naissance, and  silently,  not  a  word  spoken ;  and  leave  a  guard 

of  two  or  three  men  at  every  path  that  crosses  the 
road.  We  come  to  a  small  stream  and  have  to  pass 
through  it ;  it  is  waist  deep  and  we  are  thoroughly 
soaked,  but  on  we  go.  A  light  is  seen  a  short  dis- 
tance from  the  road,  and  Sergeant  J.  J.  McLane  is 
sent  to  look  after  it ;  he  approaches  it  cautiously 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  69 

and   reports  on   his   return   that   it   is  evidently    a  

1862. 

bivouac  fire  of  the  enemy.  We  are  soon  after  or- 
dered back,  and  pass  through  the  stream  of  water 
again,  and  after  a  short  halt  once  more  ordered  for- 
ward through  the  water  for  the  third  time.  Sergeant 
George  Burr  is  left  at  one  cross  road  with  three  men, 
and  thus  we  move  on  till  at  last  we  have  orders  to 
return  to  our  bivouac  which  we  reach  about  mid- 
night, having  crossed  that  wretched  stream  of  water 
four  times  ;  and  return  to  our  starting  point  wet, 
cold  and  tired. 

Stirring  up  our  fire  we  cooked  some  coffee  which 
revived  us  somewhat,  and  in  the  driving  rain  we 
curled  up  on  the  wet  ground  and  passed  a  wretched 
night  in  the  vain  endeavor  to  sleep,  and  eagerly 
wishing  for  the  morrow. 

"I  was  quite  fortunate  in  having  a  dry  pair  of 
stockings  to  put  on  after  we  got  back  from  our  Dry 
scouting  expedition.  Taking  off  the  soaked  bro- 
gans  and  wet  socks,  I  proceeded  to  put  on  a  clean 
dry  pair,  when — 'Where  in  thunder  did  you  get 
dry  stockings  ?'  'Ain't  you  slatting  on  considerable 
style  for  a  soldier  ? '  'Look  here,  fellows,  Sergeant's 
got  .clean,  dry  stockings,'  and  other  exclamations. 
'You  ain't  putting  on  any  airs ;  oh  no/  said  a  dis- 


70  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

-  consolate  looking  soldier  who  had  been  casting 
longing  eyes  during  the  transfer.  'Home  made, 
hey,  boy?'  'Well,  boys,  these  are  home  made. 
My  old  mother  knit  them  —  God  bless  her  —  and 
I've  carried  them  right  up  here  in  the  lining  of 
stockings,  my  vest,  one  on  each  side,  heels  front  and  toes  to 


the  shoulder,  don't  you  see.  Now  if  you  fellows 
want  to  know  just  how  uncomfortable  you  are,  feel 
of  that  warm,  dry  stocking;'  and  from  hand  to  hand 
went  the  stocking,  stroked  like  a  cat  by  one,  rubbed 
on  the  cheek  of  another,  with  all  sorts  of  comments 
on  the  mysterious  appearance  of  dry  stockings  in 
such  wet  weather.  So  after  washing  as  well  as  I 
could  the  socks  just  taken  off,  and  sticking  them  up 
by  the  fire  to  dry  if  possible,  I  found  them  dry 
enough  in  the  morning  to  take  their  place  in  the 
vest  as  the  others  had  done.  This  plan  of  carrying 
an  extra  pair  of  stockings  worked  well,  and  many 
made  use  of  it  when  a  long  march  was  anticipated." 
February  8th  we  were  early  astir,  and  hard-tack, 
sweet  potatoes  baked  in  the  ashes,  and  a  cup  (hold- 
ing a  quart)  of  coffee,  made  a  breakfast  fit  for  a 
soldier.  About  seven  we  again  heard  the  hoarse 
voice  of  our  Orderly  ("Old  Posey"),  with  "Fall  in, 
Company  A";  again  we  were  quickly  in  line,  and 


Rcgt.,  Mass.  Vols.  71 

again  we  marched  directly  into  the  forest  in  the 


same  road  we  took  the  night  before.  Again  we 
crossed  that  miserable  stream  of  water  and  again  Battle  of 
were  soaked  through  to  our  waists.  But  we  were 
soon  deployed  as  skirmishers  on  both  sides  of  the 
road,  and  we  advanced  slowly  on  account  of  the 
dense  tangled  undergrowth,  the  country  being  one 
great  swamp.  This  was  no  picnic,  no  fancy  skirmish 
we  were  on  ;  it  meant  business  this  time.  After  . 

Struggle 

perhaps  an  hour  of  this  work — it  seemed  much  in  the 
longer  than  that — we  heard  the  sharp  crack  of  a  Swamf- 
rifle  on  our  left,  and  immediately  the  cry  ran  along 
the  line,  "Here  they  are — here  they  are."  We  had 
run  on  to  the  Rebel  pickets,  and  with*  a  cheer  we 
struggled  through  the  almost  impassable  swamp. 
Capt.  Pickett,  who  had  all  this  time  been  encour- 
aging us,  now  shouted  his  orders,  and  his  voice 
rang  out  loud  and  clear  like  a  bugle-tone.  "Give 
it  to  'em,  lads  ;  drive  'em  out !  Drive  the  devils  out 
of  that ! "  We  responded  with  a  cheer,  but  it  was 
terrible  work.  How  the  sweat  rolled  off  our  faces. 
How  the  brambles  and  briars  clung  to  us,  tearing 
our  clothes,  and  flesh  even.  It  was  exciting  though, 
for  all  that.  We  were  exchanging  shots  with  the 
enemy  every  rod,  and  were  driving  them  right  along. 

10 


72  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

We  came  at  last  to  a  large  clearing  extending  on 

Feb  s  both  sides  of  the  road  ;  the  trees  had  been  felled 
Battle  of  and  lay  on  the  ground,  and  our  unpractised  eyes 
Roanoke.  ^y  ug  t^ai  ^&  j^  Driven  ^g  Rebej  pickets  to  their 

stronghold.  On  closer  inspection  we  could  see  the 
outline  of  an  earthwork  mounting  three  guns  in 
embrasures,  at  perhaps  two  hundred  yards  distance. 
Here,  then,  was  the  work  to  be  done.  The  guns 
in  the  earthwork  commanded  the  road  and  the  open 
space.  But  we  had  got  to  clean  out  those  fellows 
— that's  what  Gen.  Foster  said  we  should  do.  We 
came  to  a  halt,  and  as  skirmishers  took  advantage 
of  the  situation  all  we  could.  Every  hollow  in  the 
'ground  had  a  soldier  in  it ;  every  tree  had  a  soldier 
behind  it.  We  covered  ourselves  as  best  we  could, 
which  as  skirmishers  we  had  a  right  to  do ;  and 
obeying  the  order  of  our  Captain,  "Don't  waste 
your  powder,  boys,"  we  fired  carefully,  and  took 
great  pains  that  we  fired  at  something,  and  we  never 
aimed  at  trees.  We  fired  lying  down,  and  rolled 
over  on  our  backs  to  load.  In  skirmishing,  the 
men  are  kept  five  yards  apart ;  we  had  followed 
this  rule  to  a  nicety,  so  that  Company  A,  nearly 
one  hundred  men,  stretched  out  a  long  distance  at 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  73 

this  time,  and  the  firing  was  of  course  very  irregu- 

lar,  each  shooting  as  he  found  a  proper  mark.  Feb  g" 

The  enemy  fired  much  as  we  did,  slowly  ;  and  had  Batile  °f 

.  Roanoke. 

got  our  range  to  a  dot.  Suddenly  we  noticed  one 
of  the  Company  crawling  to  the  rear  dragging  his 
rifle  along  with  him.  "  Hallo,  Dave,  what's  the 
trouble?"  "Hit,  fellers,"  was  his  short  reply,  and 
he  crawled  along  a  short  distance,  and  then  cooly 
got  up  and  walked  limping  to  the  rear.  This  was  pirstman 
David  B.  Bigelow,  the  first  man  of  Company  A  wounded. 
wounded  in  action  in  the  service  of  the  United 
States.  He  was  hit  in  the  left  leg,  in  the  fleshy 
part  above  the  knee — a  bloody  and  painful,  but  not 
a  serious  wound. 

The  bullets  came  uncomfortably  near,  and  so 
spiteful.  "Those  fellows  mean  to  hit  us,  Captain," 
said  Dan  Eaton.  "Don't  you  mean  to  hit  them  ?" 
said  the  Captain.  "Of  course  I  do,  but  you  see — " 
He  did  not  finish  the  sentence  but  pulled  out  a  plug 
of  tobacco  and  bit  off  a  generous  allowance,  and 
running  his  cold  gray  eye  along  his  rifle  barrel,  we 
heard  in  a  few  seconds  its  sharp,  spiteful  ring,  which 
showed  that  he  meant  to  hit  something — not  a  tree. 

Another  man  went  to  the  rear — Horace  Brooks, 
hit  in  the  foot,  and  he  limped  away  out  of  sight. 


74  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

It  is  singular  that  a  wounded  man  will  walk  away 

Feb  s    fr°m  t^le  sPot  where  he  receives  his  wound  as  though 

Battle  of he  could  not  be  hit  again.     This  wound  of  Brooks 

*  crippled  him  for  life.     He  never  served  with  the 

Company  again,  but  remained  his  three  years  as 

a  detailed  man  at  New  Berne. 

We  expected  the  Regiment  would  soon  make  its 
appearance  with  the  Brigade,  when  we  would  be 
withdrawn  as  skirmishers,  and  take  our  places  with 
them  in  line  of  battle.  It  should  be  remembered 
that  this  was  our  first  experience  under  fire,  and  it 
must  be  confessed  that  the  boys  showed  a  deal  of 
pluck  and  endurance  in  skirmishing  up  to  this  point, 
under fire^^  great  coolness  in  action.  This,  undoubtedly, 
was  in  a  great  measure  owing  to  the  thorough  drill 
we  had  received  from  the  first ;  also  to  the  cool  be- 
havior of  the  officers.  The  orders  of  Capt.  Pickett 
were  clearly  and  promptly  given,  and  we  felt  from 
one  end  of  the  skirmish  line  to  the  other  that  he 
was  with  us,  and  that  he  was  in  command.  Lieut. 
Goodwin  showed  great  ability  and  coolness  through 
the  whole  affair,  and  these  officers  could  not  feel 
otherwise  than  pleased  with  the  behavior  of  the  men 
in  this  their  first  trial.  Lieut.  Bessey  had  been  de- 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  75 

tailed  on  the  signal  corps   and  was  not  with    the   

1862. 
Company  in  the  Battle  of  Roanoke.  Feb  g 

As  we  expected,  the   Regiment   soon    made    its  Battle  of 

Roanoke. 

appearance  with  the  rest  of  the  Brigade,  and  we 
took  our  place  in  its  ranks ;  but  Samuel  S.  Dresser 
went  down  with  a  wound  in  his  leg,  Charley  Bartlett 
with  a  hit  in  the  arm,  and  Henry  F.  Knox  with  a 
wound  in  the  neck — five  of  Company  A  wounded 
in  the  first  engagement. 

Line  of  battle  was  formed  as  soon  as  possible, 
and  the  Rebels  opened  on  us  with  the  big  guns. 
We  replied  with  a  volley  of  musketry,  and  the  bat- 
tle was  fairly  opened.  Our  artillery  (small  howit- 
zers) was  soon  placed  in  position,  and  for  some 
three  hours  the  firing  was  incessant.  The  ammu- 
nition of  the  Twenty-fifth  being  exhausted,  the 
Regiment  was  withdrawn  to  the  rear  a  short  dis- 
tance, and  we  rested  on  the  ground.  While  in  this 
position  Hawkin's  Zouaves  (9th  N.  Y.  Vols.)  came 
up  the  road  at  double-quick,  and  we  supposed  were 
going  to  charge  the  enemy  at  once  ;  but  they  halted 
near  and  in  front  of  us,  and  by  some  mistake  or  Mistake 
other,  fired  a  volley  into  the  Tenth  Connecticut.  °f the 
Some  said  they  were  deceived  by  the  gray  over- 


76  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

coats  of  the  Connecticut  troops,  that  being  the  color 

Feb  s   worn  by  the  Rebels.      Be  it  as  it  may,  the  Tenth 

Battle  of  turned  on  the  Zouaves  to  see  from  whence  the  firing 

oano  e'  came,  and  the  latter  faced  about  and  made  tracks 

for  the  rear,   nearly  running  over  us   (the   25th). 

This  was  prevented  by  the  boys  springing  to  their 

A  Panic  ^eet  an(^  bringing  their  rifles  to  "Charge  bayonets," 

averted,  the  officers  cooly  drawing  their  swords  and  giving 

the  orders.     This  stopped  the  backward  movement 

and  prevented  much  trouble. 

We  had  an  opportunity  while  lying  here  of  seeing 
the  effect  of  the  enemy's  firing,  in  the  bringing  out 
of  the  wounded.  One  man  was  carried  by  with  his 
head  nearly  all  torn  away  by  a  cannon  shot ;  another 
had  an  arm  shot  off,  but  he  walked  by  cheering  on 
the  soldiers  as  they  fired.  Another,  shot  in  the 
Deadand breast,  was  moaning  terribly  and  leaning  on  the 

•wounded. 

shoulders  of  two  of  his  comrades.  Many  were 
brought  out  on  stretchers,  and  many  dead  were 
carried  hurriedly 'by.  Thus  the  grim  and  ghastly 
procession  passed  on. 

Meantime  the  Twenty-first  Massachusetts  and 
Fifty-first  New  York  had  pushed  deep  into  the 
swamp  on  the  left,  with  the  intention  of  flanking 
the  Rebel  right  ;  the  Twenty-third  Massachusetts 


Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  77 

and  Ninth  New  York  (Hawkins  Zouaves)  tried  the   

same  on  the  Rebel  left.    After  a  hard  struggle  with  Feb  g" 
the  mud  and  briars  of  this  miserable  swamp,  the  Battle  of 
brave  regiments  on  the  left  succeeded  in  flanking 
the  Rebel  right,  and  with  a  sudden  dash  and  rousing 
cheers,  entered  the  Rebel  battery.      The  colors  of 
the  Twenty-first  Massachusetts   were    the    first   to 
float  over  the  Rebel  works,    quickly   followed   by 
those  of  the  Fifty-first  New  York.      History  has  it 

J  Battery 

(notably  Abbott's  History  of  the  Rebellion)  that  taken. 
Hawkins'  Zouaves  stormed  the  battery  and  took  it. 
This  is  simply  untrue.  The  Hawkins  Zouaves,  with 
the  Twenty-third  Massachusetts  "swarmed  over  the 
earthworks,"  possibly ;  but  the  battery  was  taken 
already.  The  Zouaves  no  doubt  had  a  good  writer 
among  them,  and  he  wrote  a  very  creditable  story ; 
but  what  is  the  use  ?  The  Twenty-first  Massachu- 
setts, that  splendid  fighting  regiment,  first  entered 
and  its  colors  first  floated  over  the  Rebel  battery. 

We  had  orders  now  to  move  on,  and  we  advanced 
quickly  up  the  road  and  were  soon  inside  the  bat- 
tery. We  counted  fifteen  dead  Rebels  lying  around 
in  the  earthworks,  most  of  them.  The  first  was  a 
gunner,  struck  in  the  head  by  a  bullet.  His  cap 
was  on  his  head,  strap  under  his  chin,  just  gasping 


78  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

his  last  as  we  passed.      The  ground  was  covered 


T  Rf^O 

with  his  blood.    All  of  the  Rebels  killed  were  poorly 

Feb.  8.  J 

Battle  of  c\&d  with  one  exception.  That  was  a  young  man, 
a  captain,  said  to  be  Captain  Cole  and  to  belong  to 
Philadelphia.  He  wore  a  fine  uniform,  had  rings 

Rebgl    on  his  fingers  and  gold  studs  in  his  white  shirt  front. 

dead.  He  was  killed  by  a  shot  through  the  heart.  The 
bullet  made  a  small,  clean  round  hole,  which  had 
bled  scarcely  a  drop. 

We  continued  our  march  through  the  woods, 
passing  very  few  houses,  and  taking  a  few  prisoners 
who  seemed  willing  enough  to  be  captured.  These 
also  were  poorly  clad,  but  were  quite  talkative.  We 
soon  met  one  of  Burnside's  aids,  who  said  the 
Rebels  had  surrendered  over  two  thousand  men, 
and  more  than  twenty  pieces  of  artillery.  So  ended 
the  Battle  of  Roanoke  Island,  after  a  struggle  of 
three  hours  or  more,  and  a  total  loss  to  the  Union 
troops  of  forty  killed  and  over  two  hundred  wounded. 
As  we  pushed  along  rapidly  we  found  the  road 
thickly  strewn  with  guns  and  equipments,  knap- 
sacks and  clothing,  thrown  hastily  away  by  the 
Rebels  in  their  flight.  We  passed  one  house  near 
the  road  filled  with  wounded  Rebels,  among  them 


2 $th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  79 

O.  Jennings  Wise,  son  of  Henry  A.  Wise,  of  Vir- 
ginia.    He  was  badly  wounded  and  died  soon  after. 

Our  road*lay  through  woods  the  greater  part  of 
the  way.      We  passed  on  our  right  several  small 
hills  which  appeared  to  be  composed  entirely   of 
clean  sand,  with  no  vegetation  on  them  save  an 
occasional  stunted  pine ;  but  nothing  green  what- 
ever, and  presenting  a  curious  sight.      It  was  dark 
when  we  reached  the  Rebel  encampment,  and  we    Rebel 
were  quite  ready  to  halt  when  the  order  was  given,  encamp- 
We  found  here  very  extensive  barracks,    and   an 
immense  amount  of  army  material  in  the  shape  of 
rations,  ammunition,  guns,  swords  and  other  small 
arms.     The  barracks  were  very  well  built  of  logs, 
and  could  shelter  eight  or  ten  thousand  men.      We 
found  room  in  the  building  after  considerable  search, 
and  we  were  glad  to  get  under  cover. 

It  was  interesting  to  see  how  freely  our  boys  and 
the  Rebels  talked  over  the  events  of  the  day  to- 
gether. Many  of  the  Rebels  did  not  seem  to  care 
much  about  getting  beaten,  and  many  said  they 
were  forced  into  the  service. 

The  next  day  (Feb.  9th)  was  the  Sabbath.  It 
did  riot  seem  much  like  a  Sunday  at  home,  and 
there  was  so  much  stir  and  excitement  that  it  was  a 


8o  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

great  contrast  to  our  quiet  Sundays  at  Annapolis. 

Our  camp  here  was  known  as  Camp  Foster.  The 
Rebels  were  everywhere  about,  apparently  under 
no  restraint  whatever.  They  were  all  as  poorly 
clothed  as  the  first  we  had  seen,  save  the  officers 
who  in  general  were  very  well  clad ;  but  in  no  case 
did  they  compare  with  the  boys  in  blue. 

In  the  afternoon  a  few  of  us  got  passes  and  started 
on  an  expedition  to  the  northern  shore  of  the  Island, 
Tramp  extending  our  tramp  to  the  two  upper  forts  captured 
over  the  the  day  before.  The  first  one  and  the  largest,  Fort 
Huger,  mounted  twelve  guns,  mostly  thirty-two 
pounders.  The  other,  Fort  Blanchard,  was  a  much 
smaller  earthwork,  containing  but  three  guns.  These 
forts  were  but  just  finished,  and  were  not  used  in 
the  battle  of  the  8th.  The  guns  had  been  spiked, 
but  only  with  nails  which  could  be  easily  removed. 
The  small  fort  was  about  two  miles  from  the  larger, 
and  both  were  regular  earthworks  and  really  quite 
strong.  We  found  the  road  we  travelled  thickly 
strewn  with  knapsacks  and  other  accoutrements. 

Returning  to  camp  we  found  our  squad  had  a 
good  dinner  nearly  prepared.  Good  dinners  are 
obstacles  easily  overcome  by  hungry  soldiers.  Ser- 
geant "Jemsy"  (McLane)  had  been  skirmishing 


25th  Rcgt.,  Mass.  Vols.  81 

around  for  something  to  eat — soldiers   always    do 


when  off  duty — and  had  brought  in  a  nice  fat  turkey; 
another  had  confiscated  a  chicken,  both  boiled  to- 
gether with  a  good  bit  of  pork  and  plenty  of  sweet 
potatoes.  Who  would  n't  go  for  a  soger  ?  * 

Just  after  dinner  we  were  startled  by  a  volley  of 
musketry  and  bullets  flying  over  our  heads.  "Fall 
in,  fall  in,"  was  the  order ;  and  in  a  very  few  min- 
utes we  were  in  line  and  ready  for  action.  Eating  Alarm 
dinner  a  few  minutes  ago  ;  now  ready  to  be  shot ! 
The  Rebel  prisoners  bustled  around  considerable, 
their  officers  appearing  at  the  doors  of  the  barracks, 
looking  anxiously  around,  expecting  as  we  were 
that  trouble  was  brewing ;  but  the  firing  proved  to 
be  by  some  of  the  Union  troops,  who  had  discharged 
their  rifles  preparatory  to  a  good  cleaning,  and  had 
aimed  a  little  too  close  to  our  heads  to  be  agreeable. 
But  we  had  no  more  of  this,  so  we  broke  ranks  and 
the  camp  settled  down  into  quietude  again. 

The  results  of  the  victory  of  February  8th  may  be 
briefly  stated.      Two  thousand  five  hundred  pris-  Fruits  of 
oners,  three  forts  containing  twenty-five  guns,  one  Vlctory- 
small  earthwork  where  the  fight  took  place  having 
three,  guns,  and  another  not  used  in  the  action  also 

*A  common  expression  in  the  army. 


82  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

having  three  guns,  small  arms  by  thousands,  tons 

1862.      r  ...  r  ,, 

ot  ammunition,  and  a  great  quantity  of  nour,  bacon, 

etc.,  while  the  Rebel  fleet  was  wholly  destroyed. 
Truly,  a  first-class  victory. 

Burdened  as  we  were  with  so  many  prisoners, 

it  required  a  regiment  daily  for  guard  duty  ;  but  this 

officers  did  not  last  many  days,   for  on   February   nth  the 

depart.  ReDe]  officers  were  sent  away  to   be   exchanged. 

They  marched  from  the  barracks  to  the  place  of 

embarkation  between  two  lines  of  Union  soldiers, 

and  went  on  board  the  S.  R.  Spaulding.     This  was 

some  relief;   and  other   prisoners   went    off  later, 

lightening  up  the  guard  and  making  an  easier  life 

of  it. 

The  prisoners  and  Union  boys  would  often  get 
together  evenings,  and  talk  of  the  events  of  the  last 
few  days  in  perfect  good  feeling ;  and  sometimes 
the  Rebel  prisoners  held  prayer  meetings  in  which 
Inter_  our  boys  would  join.  Singular  circumstance, — 
course,  killing  one  another  a  few  hours  before,  now  praying 
that  each  others'  lives  might  be  spared.  Our  boys 
swapped  jack  knives  with  the  Rebels,  and  traded  all 
sorts  of  things  for  tobacco ;  and  when  we  saw  the 
boys  in  blue  and  the  boys  in  gray  exchanging  the 
very  buttons  on  their  jackets  (those  who  had  them) 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  83 

and  pleased  as  children,  it  did  seem  as  if  the  habit   

of  swapping  could  hardly  be  carried  further. 

The  prisoners  were  for  the  most  part  extremely 
ignorant,  and  many  expressed  a  wish  to  get  back 
home  and  to  stay  there.  The  officers  seemed  to 
think  they  had  made  a  great  mistake  in  allowing 
us  to  land  as  they  did  without  hindrance.  No  doubt 
about  that.  Ten  thousand  armed  men — real  live 
Yankees — once  on  Roanoke  Island,  were  going  to 
travel  from  one  end  to  the  other,  and  no  earthly 
power  could  stop  them.  It  was  a  mistake  ;  but  the 
landing  would  have  been  made  and  the  Rebels 
cleaned  out  anyway — didn't  Gen.  Foster  say  so  ? 

We  learned  from  the  darky  servants  of  the  Rebel 
officers  that  their  masters  had  buried  ''lots  of  things 
out  in  de  woods  dar."  That  was  enough  ;  our  boys 
gave  the  woods  "out  dar"  a  thorough  search,  digging 
up  the  ground  with  their  bayonets  and  knives,  and  for 
finding  many  small  arms,  some  very  nice  revolvers,  Treasure- 
several  fancy  rifles,  and  many  other  things  of  no 
great  value.  One  squad  did  not  get  very  well  paid 
for  their  trouble,  for  they  found  after  some  patient 
digging  that  they  had  opened  the  grave  of  a  dead 
Rebel.  There  was  not  so  much  digging  after  that. 


84  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

Among  the  prisoners  taken  were  men  from  the 
Wise  Legion  of  Virginia,  Richmond  Blues,  Ben 
McCulloch  Rangers,  and  the  Eighth  North  Caro- 
lina Regiment.  These  were  considered  among  the 
best  troops,  and  best  clothed  and  equipped. 

On  the  morning  of  February  i6th  a  lot  of  pris- 
oners under  guard  of  Company  A,  were  marched  to 
Work  /?r  the  shore  near  the  upper  fort,  where  each  prisoner 
the  pris-  t00k  his  backload  of  boards  and  brought  them  to 

oners, 

the  barracks.  This  was  not  fancied  much  by  the 
Rebels,  although  there  was  not  a  great  deal  of 
growling ;  but  I  think  the  movement  rather  pleased 
Company  A.  The  boards  were  to  be  used  in  build- 
ing, so  the  movement  was  to  some  purpose. 

A  squad  of  us  tried  the  experiment  of  taking  a 
swim  at  a  sandy  beach  we  found  at  the  northern 
end  of  the  Island,  but  the  coldness  of  the  water 
drove  us  out  as  quickly  as  we  went  in,  and  the  swim 
Bath  ended  in  a  very  short  bath ;  and  we  made  up  our 
minds  that  bathing  at  Roanoke  Island  in  February 
was  not  as  agreeable  as  bathing  in  Massachusetts 
ki  July.  The  changes  in  the  weather  we  found 
about  as  sudden  and  as  great  as  those  in  New  Eng- 
land. 


2 5th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  85 

On  the   i  yth  a  large  number  of  prisoners  left 


under  guard  of  the  Twenty-third  Massachusetts ; 
and  on  the  i8th  all  that  remained  of  the  prisoners 
were  marched  under  guard  of  the  Twenty-fifth  Reg- 
iment to  the  shore  near  Fort  Huger,  where  they 
were  put  on  board  the  Pilot  Boy  and  the  "Old 
Wheelbarrow,"*  as  the  stern-wheel  steamer  was  T 

Removal 

called.     On  going  on  board  the  vessels  the  prison-    of  the 
ers  had  to  march  directly  under  the  old  flag  that^rz 
they  had  so  dishonored  a  few  days  before  by  firing 
upon  it.     I  think  the  sight  did  us  all  good,  and  it 
certainly  did  the  prisoners  no  harm,  for  they  saw 
floating  above  them  the  starry  flag  that  had  pro- 
tected them  in  former  years,  and  which  was  to  pro- 
tect them  in  years  to  come.     These  prisoners  were 
like  all  the  rest,  a  tough-looking  set,  ragged  and 
dirty,  and  very  illiterate.      Some  of  our  Company 

Their 

had  found  a  muster  roll  of  one  of  the  Rebel  com-  icrnoranfe 

o 

panics,  and  fully  two-thirds  of  the  names  had  their 
X  mark.  Some  said  they  were  fighting  for  their 


*  The  stern-wheel  steamer  or  -'Wheelbarrow"  was  a  rusty  old  thing,  much 
like  the  steamers  on  the  western  rivers.  It  was  two  stories  high  with  a  large 
wheel  astern.  It  was  painted  black,  and  looked  like  an  old  tumble-down 
cotton  mill  afloat.  Of  very  light  draft,  it  was  of  great  service  in  the  shallow 
water,  and  was  constantly  on  the  go.  It  is  a  wonder  how  she  ever  got  around 
Cape  Hatteras  if  she  was  brought  that  way. 


86  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

x 

homes  ;  others  that  they  were  fighting  for  secession  ; 

others  frankly  owned  that  they  did  not  know  what 
they  were  fighting  for.      Some    had    considerable 
pluck,  and  said  they  would  be  at  us  again  when  ex- 
changed ;  and  some  of  these  same  men  were  taken 
again  at  New  Berne.     Others  had  got  enough  of  it 
and  longed  for  home.      These  prisoners,  most  of 
Removal  tnem>  were  taken  to  the  steamer  New   York,  and 
of  the    Company  A  went  on  board  as  guard.     We  moved 
s'  about  two  miles  from  the  Island,  near  a  light  house, 
and  came  to  anchor  to  wait  for  the  other  boats  with 
the  rest  of  the  prisoners.    It  was  said  that  we  should 
sail  for  Elizabeth  City  where  the  prisoners  would  be 
exchanged. 

We  lay  here  all  day  of  the  igth,  and  not  until 
about  2  p.  M.  on  the  2Oth  did  we  receive  orders  to 
follow  the  S.  R.  Spaulding,  which  with  the  other 
steamers  had  just  arrived.  The  vessels  carrying 
the  prisoners  were  the  .51  R.  Spaulding,  New  York, 
Cossack,  Admiral  and  Peabody.  To  Elizabeth  City 
where  we  were  going  was  some  forty  miles,  and  on 
starting,  the  other  steamers  were  all  in  advance  of 
the  New  York ;  but  we  passed  them  one  after  an- 
other, the  Spa^tlding  included,  and  then  to  obey 
orders  took  our  place  second  in  line.  It  was  a  pretty 


25th  Rcgt.,  Mass.  Vols.  87 

sight  to  see  the  New  York  pass  the  other  steamers  - 
so  nicely,  and  the  prisoners  as  well  as  our  boys  were 
greatly  excited  over  it,  and  called  it  a  race,  but  it 
was  simply  obeying  orders. 

About  twenty  miles  from  Roanoke  we  passed 
another  light  house,  and  soon  began  to  see  signs  of 
life.  Villages,  wind  mills,  cultivated  fields,  etc., 
appeared  ;  and  the  land  in  many  places  seemed  to 
be  covered  with  trees,  pines  mostly,  with  the  dark 
green  cypress  on  the  low  lands.  About  6  p.  M.  we 
anchored  off  Elizabeth  City,  a  high-sounding  name 
for  so  small  a  village  (ten  or  twelve  hundred  inhabi- 
tants), but  quite  a  pretty  place  for  all  that.  We 
here  saw  what  our  gunboats  had  been  doing  since 
the  fight.  It  seems  they  drove  the  Rebel  boats 
from  Roanoke,  and  followed  them  to  this  place 
where  they  found  six  Rebel  gunboats  under  the 


protection  of  a  battery  on  shore.  The  Union  fleet,  destroyed. 
as  the  story  goes,  paid  no  attention  to  the  battery, 
but  went  heavily  for  the  boats,  boarding  and  cap- 
turing two  and  sinking  four  (the  wrecks  of  which 
we  saw  sticking  out  of  the  water),  clearing  out  the 
whole  lot  ;  and  then  paid  their  regards  to  the  battery, 
which  was  quickly  silenced.  The  troops  and  in- 
habitants fled  ;  but  the  place  being  of  no  importance 


88  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

in  a  military  way,  it  was  not  occupied  by  our  men, 

and  the  inhabitants  returned. 

At  1 1  o'clock  of  February  2ist,  we  steamed  up  to 

the  little  wharf,  and  began  to  "discharge  cargo" — 

that  is,  to  land  the  prisoners.     They  were  gathered 

Prisoners  *nto  comPames  by  their  sergeants,  and  were  put 

landed  ashore  as  fast  as  possible.      It  was  a  motley  crowd 

and    — SQ  wrej;Chec[iy  clad.      Their  blankets  were  made 

paroled. 

of  bits  of  carpet  that  had  evidently  had  hard  usage 
before  serving  this  purpose.  There  was  no  uni- 
formity in  their  dress — it  could  not  be  called  a 
uniform,  save  in  color,  nearly  all  being  the  same 
dirty  gray.  They  had  no  arms  of  course ;  these 
were  all  left  at  Roanoke.  Knapsacks  and  haver- 
sacks were  entirely  home  made,  with  canteens  made 
of  wood.  A  more  wretched-looking  set  of  men  I 
certainly  never  saw.  Some  said  to  us  in  a  quiet 
way  that  they  would  never  be  caught  in  the  army 
again  ;  others  were  stupidly  indifferent ;  others  were 
somewhat  excited,  and  a  few  had  some  bluster  left ; 
'  but  it  was  a  sorry  sight.  And  yet,  these  men  fought 
well  in  the  battle  of  the  8th.  Some  of  these  poor 
fellows  were  sick  on  the  boat,  and  we  got  medicine 
for  them,  took  good  care  of  them,  and  made  them  as 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  89 

comfortable  as  we  could — indeed  they  were  treated   

1862. 
like  men. 

On  shore  we  noticed  some  Rebel  soldiers  with 
our  blue  uniforms  on.  These  they  got  from  the 
gunboat  Fanny,  which  was  taken  by  the  Rebels, 
and  which  our  fleet  recaptured  and  sunk  a  few  days 
before.  We  were  not  allowed  to  stray  from  the 
New  York,  but  we  could  see  several  church  spires,  Elizabeth 
and  that  the  streets  were  wide,  with  many  trees  City- 
scattered  along  through  them.  We  could  also  see 
the  ruins  of  several  houses  burned  by  their  own 
soldiers,  who  would  have  destroyed  the  whole  town 
if  the  inhabitants  had  not  rallied  in  time  to  save 
their  property,  so  they  told  us.  We  stopped  only 
long  enough  to  land  the  prisoners,  and  then  moved 
about  half  a  mile  from  the  town  and  dropped  anchor 
to  give  the  other  steamers  a  chance  to  land  their 
prisoners.  It  is  an  unimportant  fact  to  note  here ; 
but  how  the  frogs-  did  peep  that  night !  It  seemed 
as  if  they  kept  up  the  chorus  till  morning.  Said  Fro 
one  of  our  boys :  "You  bet  the  little  cusses  ain't 
piping  like  that  up  home  about  this  time." 

February  22nd,  at  8  A.  M.  we  got  under  way,  and 
after  a  very  pleasant  sail  anchored  off  Roanoke 
Island  once  more,  and  listened  to  a  salute  in  honor 


90  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

of  Washington's  birth-day  from  the  guns  spiked  by 

the  Rebels  on  the  day  of  the  fight. 

Sunday  the  23d  a  boat  went  ashore  and  our  knap- 
sacks were  sent  to  us — a  soldier  feels  lost  without 
his  knapsack — and  we  soon  after  moved  up  to  the 
first  light  house  we  saw  when  going  to  Elizabeth 
City ;  and  after,  a  stay  of  twenty-four  hours,  were 
ordered  back  to  join  the  fleet  at  Roanoke. 

In  one  of  the  state  rooms  occupied  by  the  Rebel 
prisoners,  we  found  the  following  lines  written  in 
pencil  on  the  wall : 

We,  the  non-commissioned  officers  of  Co.  K,  North  Carolina  8th 

of  the 

.    .  Regiment,  do  give  our  thanks  to  Co.  A,  of  the  Massachusetts  2Sth, 

prisoners.        ° 

for  the  many  acts  of  kindness  shown  by  that  Co.  to  us,  and  if  it 
is  ever  in  our  power  will  return  the  same. 

Sergt.  J.  IDE,  for  the  Company 

Many  months  after,  it  was  in  their  power,  and 
they  redeemed  their  promise. 

February  26th,  we  went  ashore  in  small  boats, 
landing  near  the  spot  we  first  touched  February  8th ; 
and  from  there  marched  to  the  barracks  we  left  one 
week  ago.  We  noticed  lots  of  robins  on  the  way 
up,  singing  as  sweetly  as  they  ever  did  at  home  in 
warmer  weather. 


2 5th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  91 

Our  mail  had  just  arrived.     Mail  day  was  a  great  

day  for  soldiers.  The  postmaster,  a  soldier  detailed 
for  that  purpose,  brought  the  mail  to  the  Company, 
and  called  out  the  names  of  the  lucky  ones,  handing  Mail  day. 
over  the  precious  letters.  The  Twenty-fifth  is  no- 
tably a  writing  regiment.  The  mail  bag  always 
leaves  well  filled  and  returns  in  like  condition. 

It  seems  almost  laughable  to  tell  now  of  the  ru- 
mors of  peace  that  were  afloat  in  camp  at  this  early  Rumor3 

J     of  peace. 

stage  of  the  war.  We  were  all  to  be  home  in  sixty 
days,  etc.  But  all  through  the  war  these  rumors 
would  start  up,  no  one  knew  how ;  but  would  die 
out  as  quickly  as  they  had  risen.  The  particular 
rumor  at  this  time  was  that  Burnside  had  said  that 
he  would  have  his  troops  home  by  the  first  of  July. 
Some  tried  to  believe  it,  but  the  majority  did  not 
take  stock  in  this  or  any  other  report  of  like  import. 
Our  camp  here  was  known  as  Camp  Foster  (our 
second  camp  since  we  left  Worcester) ;  and  by  order  camp 
of  Gen.  Burnside  we  are  to  have  inscribed  on  our  Foster- 
banner:  "Roanoke  Island,  February  8th,  1862." 
Burnside  gave  his  troops  great  praise  for  their  con- 
duct in  this  their  first  engagement ;  and  they  cer- 
tainly did  well,  and  really  deserved  the  commen- 
dation he  bestowed  on  them. 


92  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

While  here  our  minds  naturally  went  back  to  the 
discovery  and  first  settlement  of  Roanoke  Island  in 
the  days  of  Elizabeth  of  England,  nearly  three  cen- 
turies before.  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  visited  the  Island 
and  attempted  the  foundation  of  a  colony  which 
proved  a  failure.  After  so  long  a  time  its  romantic 
history  was  now  supplemented  by  the  remarkable 
events  of  the  last  few  days. 

"One  morning  I  obtained  a  pass,  and  started  about 
9  o'clock  for  a  long  stroll,  intending  to  hunt  up  the 
wounded  of  Company  A.  Making  my  way  at  once 
z/"  'to  Fort  Huger,  and  following  along  the  coast  of  the 
Island  to  Fort  Blanchard,  I  noticed  a  boat-load  of 
Zouaves  bound  in  the  same  direction  as  myself;  and 
presently  a  hail  came:  'Hallo,  there;  what  regi- 
ment?' 'Twenty-fifth  Massachusetts,'  I  replied. 
This  answer  brought  the  boat  to  me  with  the  wel- 
come, 'Come  aboard' ;  and  we  were  soon  at  their 
quarters,  which  proved  to  be  on  one  of  the  old  canal 
boats  we  had  towed  around  Cape  Hatteras.  It  was 
Company  K,  Hawkins  Zouaves,  into  whose  hands  I 

TT  7    '  *•  * 

naivkins 

Zouaves,  had  fallen,  and  a  bright,  jolly  set  of  fellows  they 
were.  In  vain  I  pleaded  a  long  tramp  before  me ; 
I  must  stop  to  dinner,  and  I  did.  These  men  were 
all  quite  young,  and  were  completely  bound  up  in 


2$th  Rcgt.,  Mass.  Vols.  93 

their  regiment.    Its  singular  dress  they  claimed  was 


the  most  comfortable^  for  a  soldier — the  red  cap, 
loose  jacket  and  baggy  trousers.  Their  orderly  was 
of  Scotch  descent,  named  Donaldson,  and  he  was 
quite  enthusiastic  over  Massachusetts  soldiers.  He 
said  the  Zouave  uniform  seemed  whimsical,  and  it 
was  so  regarded ;  but  men  will  do  a  great  deal  for  a 
whim.  These  men  with  their  showy  uniforms  ap- 
peared well  pleased  with  their  officers,  and  seemed 
very  intelligent  and  contented. 

"  I  left  the  Zou-zous  with  regret,  and  hurried  on  to 
the  house  we  surrounded  when  we  first  landed. 
This  was  used  now  as  a  hospital,  and  on  going  up 
stairs  I  found  only  one  of  Company  A — Charley 

*  J     Charley 

Bartlett.  He  was  feeling  badly ;  his  right  arm — the 
wounded  one — was  bandaged,  and  he  was  suffer- 
ing a  great  deal  from.  it.  I  cheered  him  up,  told 
him  all  the  news,  and  he  said  if  he  could  only  have 
his  knapsack  and  be  with  the  other  wounded  A  boys 
he  would  be  all  right.  I  promised  him  this,  and 
bade  him  goodbye. 

"I  learned  that  most  of  the  wounded  had  been 
placed  on  steamers  and  nearly  all  would  be  sent 
home.  I  found  no  more  A  boys.  Near  the  house 
were  many  graves  of  the  Union  dead,  each  having 


94  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

a  board  at  the  head.      Some    were    marked    with 

name,  regiment,  etc.;  others  "supposed  to  be"  such 
a  one  ;  and  several  were  marked  "unknown."  This, 
then,  was  the  end — an  unknown  grave.  This  is  the 

The  dead. 

dark  side  of  a  soldier's  life — wounds,  suffering,  death 
and  a  nameless  grave. 

"  From  the  hospital  my  next  point  was  the  battery 
where  the  fight  took  place.  A  few  soldiers  were  on 
duty  there ;  and  men  from  various  regiments  were 
pointing  out  places  occupied  by  them  during  the 
action.  Squads  of  soldiers  were  eagerly  hunting 
for  (of  course)  something  to  eat,  making  special 
efforts  to  capture  North  Carolina  hogs,  which  to  a 
Hunting  rather  limited  extent  were  found  on  the  Island.  An 

hogs. 

occasional  squeal  in  the  distance  denoted  a  capture  ; 
and  the  indications  were  that  within  a  short  time 
very  little  "pork"  would  be  found  running  around 
loose  on  Roanoke  Island.  I  reached  the  barracks 
about  dark,  hungry,  to  be  sure,  and  quite  ready  to 
partake  of  a  meal  of  North  Carolina  hog  and  sweet 
potatoes." 

March  4th  we  had  company  drill  for  the  first  time 
since  leaving  Annapolis,  save  one  or  two  attempts  to 
drill  on  the  New  York.  While  drilling  we  noticed 
robins,  bluebirds  and  sparrows  in  abundance.  These 


2$th  Rcgt.,  Mass.  Vols.  95 

birds  stay  in  this  locality  all  winter,  which  proves 


that  the  season  cannot  be  very  severe. 

The  soldiers  got  the  idea  of  making  briar  wood 
pipes  while  we  were  at  Roanoke,  and  some  were    Briar 
very  curious  affairs.     The  roots  grew  in  all  sorts  of    W00(i- 
fantastic  shapes,  and  with  a  deal  of  skill  and  patience 
the  boys  made  very  handsome  pipes  for  friends  at 
home. 

Orders  came  at  last  for  all  the  wounded  to  be 
sent  on  board  the  steamers  for  home,  so  they  were 
all  transferred  accordingly,  and  we  wished  them 
good  luck  on  their  departure. 

"I  went  one  day  to  the  hospital,  a  rough  build- 
ing erected  for  that  purpose,  to  see  Corporal  Horace 
Brooks  of  our  company.  He  was  wounded  in  the 
foot,  and  lay  on  his  cot  looking  quite  comfortable, 
and  talked  very  cheerfully.  He  said  there  were 
three  men  near  him  in  the  hospital  who  had  but  two 
legs  among  them.  One  had  none,  and  two  had  lost 
one  each  ;  and  a  singular  fact  was  that  the  one  who 
lost  both  legs  was  doing  well,  while  another  who 
lost  only  a  finger  had  brain  fever  set  in  and  died. 
So  it  goes." 

March  6th  we  went  on  board  the  "Old  Wheel- 
barrow" or  stern-wheel  steamer  (Union),  and  were 


g6  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

taken  to  the  New  York,  where  we  occupied  our  old 

1862.  .       , 

quarters  again,  the  sergeants  taking  the  same  little 

state  room  as  before,  which  was  quite  by  itself  and 
was  reached  from  the  outside.  It  seemed  like  get- 
ting home  to  be  in  our  old  bunks  again. 

On  the  7th  we  had  a  regular  old  Hatteras  gale, 
a  gentle  reminder  of  what  had  been  and  might  be 
again.  On  the  9th  it  cleared  away  and  we  had  a 
most  delightful  day  of  it.  Through  the  winter  at 
Hatteras  it  is  safe  to  calculate  on  two  storms  a  week, 
and  not  of  the  gentle  sort,  but  regular  tearers. 

"  It  is  strange  how  things  are  mixed  in  this  soldier 
life  of  ours.  Now  everything  seems  like  peace — 
waters  quiet,  boats  gliding  about  in  all  directions, 
and  shouts  of  laughter  from  all  the  vessels  in  our 
vicinity.  Rumor  has  it  that  we  are  on  the  eve  of 
another  battle." 


NOTE.  The  Captain  Cole  mentioned  on  page  78,  is  said  to 
have  been  an  officer  in  the  famous  Richmond  Blues,  one  of  the 
most  aristocratic  companies  in  Virginia, 


CHAPTER    VI. 

THE  CAPTURE  OF  NEW  BERNE. 

X/TARCH  nth  we  were  ordered  to  move,  but  had 

some  trouble  on   account  of  the   four  or  five 

schooners  we  were  to  tow.      When  we  got  fairly 

under  way  we  run  aground,  and  the  soldiers  were 

}  On  the 

obliged  to  go  on  board  small  steamers  to  lighten  up  move, 
the  New  York,  and  the  tugs  had  a  hard  time  to  pull 
her  off.  All  this  detained  us  five  hours.  Meantime 
one  of  the  sailors  fell  overboard,  which  caused  a 
ripple  of  excitement,  but  the  man  swam  like  a  fish 
and  was  picked  up  all  right  by  a  small  boat. 

The  morning  of  March  I2th  found  us  at  Hatteras 
near  our  old  anchoring  ground,  but  we  started  again, 
supposed  to  be  bound  for  New  Berne,  ninety  miles 
from  Hatteras  Inlet ;  and  had  a  delightful  day's  sail, 
reaching  the  mouth  of  the  Neuse  River  about  4  P.  M., 
and  found  the  rest  of  the  fleet  ready  and  waiting. 


98  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

We  steamed  slowly  but  boldly  up  the  river,  passing 

but  few  houses  scattered  along  on  either  side ;  and 
noticed  that  the  country  was  well  wooded,  and  ap- 

Up  the 

River,  parently  more  uneven  than  the  section  we  had  left. 
We  anchored  about  8  in  the  evening  at  a  place 
called  Slocum's  Creek.  We  had  seen  during  the 
day  tall  columns  of  dark  smoke  in  different  direc- 
tions, thought  by  some  to  be  signals  of  our  approach. 
We  did  not  pass  a  single  strange  sail,  nothing  in 
fact  save  a  small  sail  boat  containing  two  men,  which 
was  brought  up  rather  suddenly  by  a  solid  shot 
from  one  of  our  gunboats. 

We  had  orders  to  land  in  light  marching  order 
as  at  Roanoke.  It  was  evident  that  we  had  a  bio^er 

Fore- 
bodings, job  on  our  hands  than  the  affair  on  the  Island ;  and 

"Old  Posey"  consoled  us  with  the  prediction  that 
some  of  us  would  lose  the  number  of  our  mess 
before  many  hours. 

The  Neuse  River  is  a  noble  stream,  between 
two  and  three  miles  wide  at  its  mouth,  and  navi- 
gable for  large  vessels  and  steamers  to  New  Berne. 
Slocum's  Creek  is  sixteen  or  eighteen  miles  below 
New  Berne,  and  about  the  same  distance  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Neuse. 


2$th  Rcgt.,  Mass.  Vols.  99 

The  night  passed  quietly  away.      Going  on  deck 


1  ......  .  .  1862. 

about  midnight  the  scene  was  an  impressive  one. 

A  silence  almost  oppressive  rested  over  Burnside's 
fleet ;  no  lights  were  visible  anywhere,  but  the  forms  Midnight 
of  the  vessels  were  plainly  to  be  seen,  and  the  shore  scene- 
on  either  side  of  the  river,  bordered  with  forest 
trees,  lay  dark  and  silent  under  the  dim  starlight. 
On  the  morning  of  March  i3th,  after  the  woods 
had  been  shelled  by  the  gunboats,  the  troops  landed 
in  much  the  same  way  as  at  Roanoke.  Lines  of 
boats  were  drawn  as  near  the  shore  as  possible  by 
light-draft  steamers  ;  the  boats  were  then  separated 
and  made  for  the  shore.  It  was  a  singularly  beautiful 
sight;  the  boats  were  crowded  with  men  "Wearing 
the  Blue,"  and  their  bayonets  glistened  as  if  tipped 
with  sparks  of  sunshine.  There  was  the  same  strife 

of  the 

as  at  Roanoke  as  to  who  should  land  first ;  but  here  troops. 
parts  of  several  companies  were  landing  at  the  same 
time,  Company  A  among  the  first ;  and  many  jumped 
out  of  the  boats  and  waded  ashore.  If  it  was  a 
mistake  on  the  Rebels'  part  in  allowing  us  to  land 
on  Roanoke  Island,  here  was  another  one.  We  all 
landed,  and  not  an  opposing  shot  was  fired.  Com- 
pany A  was  formed  quickly  in  the  woods  under  live 
oak  trees  from  whose  branches  hung  long  festoons 


ioo  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

of  gray  moss  which  waved  in  the  slightest  breeze, 


l862.  i    -1  •  1         i  r 

while  vines  had  crept  from  tree  to  tree  covering 
their  tops  completely.  Birds  were  twittering  in  the 
branches,  and  we  marched  away  from  this  delightful 
spot  with  scarce  a  thought  of  the  terrible  scenes  we 
might  pass  through  in  the  next  few  hours. 

The  Company  was  sent  on  ahead ;  passing  some 
log  huts  and  seeing  no  people,  we  halted  after 
tramping  about  two  miles.  Soon  a  part  of  Reno's 
brigade  passed  us,  with  the  Twenty-first  in  advance. 
In  a  short  time  the  Twenty-fifth  came  up,  and  we 
fell  in  and  pushed  on  towards  New  Berne  through 
pine  forests.  We  passed  large,  rough  buildings 
„..  ,,  .  that  had  been  used  as  barracks  by  the  Rebels.  An 

Flight  of  J 

.old  darky  here  told  us  the  Rebels  "run  like  jingo 
when  dey  knowed  de  Yanks  was  comin."  It  had 
been  a  cavalry  station,  and  their  scouts  had  seen  us 
land,  and  had  given  the  alarm,  when  the  whole 
crowd  left  for  New  Berne,  and  in  such  a  hurry  that 
their  saddles,  bridles  and  other  equipments  lay  scat- 
tered around  in  great  confusion.  They  left  their 
tables  standing  with  breakfast  scarcely  touched. 
We  stopped  but  a  few  minutes,  but  long  enough 
for  some  of  us  to  pretty  nearly  finish  that  breakfast. 
Of  course  we  were  hungry — it  was  certainly  over 


2$th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.                            101 
an  hour  since  we  had  eaten  our  breakfast — and  sol-   


diers  are  always  hungry.  It  was  here  that  McLane  l8"2' 
played  a  practical  joke  on  some  of  us  —  oh  Jemsy, 
how  could  you  !  If  I  remember  rightly  the  Captain 
was  in  the  scrape.  McLane  came  out  of  the  barracks 
bringing  a  large  tin  dish  filled  with  a  dark  brown 
substance,  and  cried  out,  "Sugar,  boys,  Sugar!" 
"Here,  Jemsy,  here,"  "This  way,  Jemsy";  and  a 

Salt  for 

score  of  hands  made  a  grab  at  the  dish,  a  score  of 


mouths  were  filled  with  the  —  sugar  ?  No  !  It  was 
salt,  and  villainous,  dirty  salt  at  that.  What  a  spitting, 
sputtering,  cursing  was  there  !  We  marched  on 
amid  the  shouts  of  those  who  had  not  tasted  the 
sugar,  and  the  curses  —  not  loud  but  deep  —  of  those 
who  had. 

And  now  it  came  on  to  rain,  and  shortly  the  roads 
were  heavy  with  mud.  The  marching  became 
harder  every  hour,  still  there  was  no  grumbling; 
and  when  Gen.  Foster  rode  along-  and  announced 

Hard 

(false  rumor  by  the  way)  that  the  Army  of  the  marching. 
Potomac  had  advanced,  and  that  Manassas  was 
taken,  the  air  rung  with  the  shouts  of  the  soldiers. 
Soon  we  hacj  a  report  from  the  advance  that  a  large 
earthwork  directly  across  the  road  we  were  travel- 
ing had  been  evacuated  by  the  enemy.  This  bit  of 


IO2  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

news  was  also  received  with  the  greatest  enthusiasm, 


and  served  to  keep  our  spirits  up  for  the  remainder 
of  the  day.  We  soon  came  in  sight  of  the  deserted 
battery,  and  were  struck  with  its  appearance.  It 
was  built  at  the  point  where  the  road  we  were 
traveling  crossed  the  railroad  to  New  Berne,  and 
commanded  both  railroad  and  turnpike,  It  was  in- 
tended for  three  heavy  guns  when  completed.  The 
earthworks  extended  from  this  point  to  the  Neuse 

defenses. 

River  on  our  right,  and  a  good  distance  beyond 
the  railroad  on  our  left ;  and  if  these  works  had 
been  properly  defended  we  should  have  had  a  deal 
of  trouble  in  getting  through  them. 

We  pushed  forward  through  mud  and  rain,  with 
frequent  halts  for  a  few  minutes  rest ;  and  at  dark 
turned  into  the  woods  on  the  right  of  the  road  for  a 
cheerless  bivouac  in  the  wet.  It  is  not  a  pleasant 
thing  to  contemplate — a  bivouac  in  a  heavy  rain  on 
ground  already  soaked  with  water — for  it  had  rained 
Bivouac  steadily  for  hours  and  there  was  now  no  cessation ; 
but  here  was  the  place  for  us  to  stop,  so  there  was 
nothing  to  be  said  about  it.  In  spite  of  the  rain  we 
soon  had  fires  started,  and  our  coffee  cooking. 
Haversacks  were  opened,  and  the  everlasting  "salt 
horse"  and  hard-tack  brought  forth ;  and  these  with 


2$th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  103 

our  tin  (quart)  cups  full  of  piping  hot  coffee  sweet-   

ened  just  right,  made  us,  considering  all  things,  a 
good  supper. 

Now  we  looked  around  for  some  place  to  turn  in. 
It  was  amusing  to  see  the  different  ways  the  boys 
took  to  provide  sleeping  places.  One  man  who 
had  found  two  rough  logs,  rolled  them  close  to- 
gether and  went  to  sleep  on  top  of  them,  with  his 
rubber  blanket  over  him.  Three  or  four  were  sitting 
upright  together  with  their  backs  against  a  large 
tree,  and  their  rubber  blankets  drawn  over  their 
heads.  Others  cut  brush  and  small  limbs  of  trees  inthev)et 
to  sleep  on — anything  to  keep  them  out  of  the  wet. 
Some,  by  fastening  two  rubber  blankets  together 
and  stretching  them  between  trees  with  slant  or 
pitch  enough  to  shed  the  water,  obtained  a  good 
shelter,  large  enough  for  four  or  more  to  lie  under, 
while  two  more  rubber  blankets  kept  them  from  the 
wet  ground.  These  blankets  measured  eight  feet 
by  four,  and  had  eyelet  holes  all  round  the  edge, 
being  easily  fastened  together  by  strings ;  and  it 
was  by  using  them  somewhat  as  described  that  the 
boys  got  the  greatest  benefit  from  them. 

Soldiers  choose  their  tent-mates,  and  chum  to- 
gether at  every  bivouac  while  on   a    march ;    for 
14 


IO4  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

instance,  the  officers  messed  together  in  camp  and 


bivouac,  the  sergeants  usually  did  the  same,  and 
the  company  was  divided  into  squads  of  four  or 
more,  who  were  always  found  together  in  little 
families,  so  to  speak.  On  this  night  the  Sergeants 
had  made  a  shelter,  a  sort  of  tent  of  rubber  blan- 
kets. Having  started  with  three  days'  rations  we 
had  enough  to  eat ;  and  when  "Jemsy"  produced 
a  candle  and  placed  it  in  the  end  of  a  bayonet  which 
he  stuck  in  the  ground  inside,  we  felt  more  com- 
fortable, for  we  could  see  just  how  wretched  and 
miserable  we  were. 

Scouting  parties  were  sent  out  in  different  direc- 
tions during  the  night,  and  guards  posted  ;  but  those 
of  us  off  duty  managed  to  get  some  sleep,  wet 
through  as  we  were,  overcoats  and  all. 

We  will  look  now  at  the  defenses  of  New  Berne. 
We  had  passed  without  hindrance  through  the  first 
line  of  works,  and  a  strong  one  it  was  too  ;  and  we 
had  reason  to  suppose  we  were  near  the  second 
defenses.  n'ne>  as  indeed  we  were  (within  half  a  mile).  This 
second  line  was  perhaps  ten  miles  or  more  from  the 
place  of  landing,  and  perhaps  six  miles  from  New 
Berne.  It  consisted  of  earthworks — regular  intrench- 
ments — extending  from  the  River  Neuse  to  the 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  105 

railroad,  a  distance  of  a  mile ;  and  beyond  the  rail-   

road  a  long  line  of  rifle  pits  extended  half  a  mile 
further,  ending  with  a  two-gun  battery  on  the  edge 
of  a  large  swamp.  The  works  as  far  as  the  railroad 
were  protected  with  a  deep  ditch  in  front,  about  ten 
feet  wide  and  six  feet  deep.  At  the  river  on  the 
enemy's  left,  was  Fort  Thompson  mounting  thirteen 
guns,  some  pivot  that  could  be  fired  in  any  direction. 
This  fort  had  a  bomb  proof,  was  very  strong,  and 
certainly  a  bad  thing  to  approach.  Three  guns 
could  sweep  the  field  in  front  of  the  intrenchments,  The  Rebel 

defenses. 

and  ten  guns  commanded  the  river.  The  Neuse 
was  blockaded  by  twenty  or  more  sunken  ships,  a 
row  of  piles,  and  any  number  of  torpedoes.  Above 
Fort  Thompson,  on  the  river  towards  New  Berne, 
was  a  battery  of  eight  guns,  and  beyond  this  another 
of  four  guns,  besides  one  or  two  smaller  works  not 
completed.  The  county  road  we  tramped  to  this 
place  passed  through  these  fortifications  about  mid- 
way between  the  river  and  the  railroad ;  and  at  this 
point  was  a  sort  of  lunette  mounting  three  guns 
that  commanded  the  road  and  every  approach 
thereto.  The  entire  line  of  works  was  thoroughly 
built,  in  perfect  order,  and  the  position  was  an  ex- 
ceedingly strong  one.  To  defend  these  works  the 


io6  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

enemy  had  some  nine  thousand  men,  including  five 

hundred  cavalry,  with  over  thirty  pieces  of  artillery. 
To  attack  and  capture  this  position   Burnside  had 
about   nine  thousand  men,  and  at  the  most,  eight 
or  ten  small  howitzers.      But  he  had  the  gunboats 
also,  which,  as  we  shall  see,  did  their  part  in  the 
battle.    The  Rebels  had  prepared  a  large  raft  loaded 
with  cotton,  tar,  turpentine  and  other  combustibles, 
which  was  to  be  set  on  fire  and  floated  down  the 
river,  and  of  course  would  destroy  the  Yankee  gun- 
boats— only  it  didn't.      The  wind  blew  the  wrong 
way  and  it  floated  up  against  the  wharf  and  set  it  on 
fire,  and  did  no  harm  whatever  to  the  fleet. 

It  was  a  long  night,  that  night  before  the  Battle 
of  New  Berne,  but  like  all  other  things  it  had  an 
end.  The  earliest  daylight  of  the  i4th  found  us 
astir,  crawling  around  like  so  many  half-drowned 
flies, — cold,  wet,  stiff,  sore  and  hungry ;  but  by 
moving  quickly,  many  of  us  managed  to  get  some- 
thing to  eat  and  the  "cup  of  coffee,"  before  the  ex- 
pected order  "Fall  in"  was  heard.  The  order  was 
not  long  delayed,  and  we  were  once  more  on  the 
opening  road.  We  had  marched  but  a  short  distance,  per- 

*  haps  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  when   firing-  was  heard 

Battle. 

ahead,  which  told  us  that  the  battle  had  opened. 


Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  107 

The  Twenty-fifth  filed  into  the  woods  on  the  right  

of  the  road,  and  with  the  rest  of  the  brigade  formed    x    2* 

March  14 

in  line  of  battle,  and  pressed  forward  slowly,  Com- 
pany A  having  the  right  of  the  regiment,  which  had 
the  right  of  the  brigade,  We  very  soon  found  our- 
selves at  the  edge  of  a  clearing  beyond  which,  at 
about  three  hundred  yards  distance,  were  the  Rebel 
earthworks  extending  as  far  as  we  could  see,  right 
and  left.  While  here  Sergeant  Putnam  was  sent 
out  with  one  man  (Corporal  Jaalam  Gates,  after- 
wards a  captain  in  U.  S.  colored  troops)  to  recon-  Battle  Oj 
noiter,  with  orders  not  to  fire,  but  as  quietly  as  New 
possible  see  what  could  be  made  out  of  the  situation. 
They  plunged  at  once  into  the  woods  and  made 
their  way  towards  the  river.  They  observed  the 
Rebel  earthworks,  and  at  last  came  in  sight  of  Fort 
Thompson,  with  its  guns  in  position  to  sweep  the 
whole  clearing  in  front  of  the  fortifications.  Making 
what  observations  they  could,  they  were  about  to 
return  when  a  Rebel  was  discovered  standing  on  a 
stump,  hand  over  his  face  to  shade  his  eyes,  and  his 
rifle  in  the  other  hand.  He  had  evidently  seen  our 
troops,  for  his  eyes  were  riveted  upon  the  spot  they 
occupied.  "I  say,  Sergeant,"  said  the  Corporal, 
"that's  about  a  hundred  yards  ;  I  can  pop  that  fellow 


io8  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

as  I  would  a  turkey,"  and  he  raised  his  rifle  to  do 


it ;  but  the  orders  were  not  to  fire,  so  they  returned 

March  14 

to  the  regiment  and  reported. 

Meantime  line  of  battle  had  been  formed  in  the 

edge  of  the  woods,  with  the  enemy's  intrenchments 

close  at  hand  and  in  plain  sight,  the  Twenty-fifth 

Regiment  on  the  extreme  right.      We  now  heard 

loud  cheering  on  the  left,  and  knew  the  Twenty-first 

was  engaged.     We  here  received  the  enemy's  fire 

from  the  front  and  from  Fort  Thompson  on  the  right, 

several  of  the  regiment  being  wounded  at  the  first 

Battle  of fire  from  the  fort.     Our  gunboats,  too,  having  as- 

New    cended  the  river  thus  far,  were  throwing  shells  over 

jy£f*jf£ 

our  heads,  which  fell  short  of  the  Rebel  earthworks 
and  burst  directly  in  our  front,  fairly  shaking  the 
earth,  throwing  up  columns  of  dirt,  and  tearing 
great  holes  in  the  ground  at  every  explosion.  The 
position  was  a  bad  one,  and  we  were  soon  with- 
drawn and  placed  further  to  the  left. 

The  fight  was  now  raging  furiously  all  along  the 
line.  We  passed  our  howitzer  battery  of  four  guns  ; 
here  the  fight  had  been  severe,  and  in  all  directions 
lay  the  dead  and  wounded  of  the  battery.  Bullets 
were  flying  around  thick,  and  solid  shot  came  crash- 
ing through  the  trees.  The  excitement  at  this  time 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  109 

was  very  great, — firing  along  the  whole  line,    and   

loud  cheering  away  down  the  left  where  the  gallant 

March  14 

Twenty-first  had  made  a  charge,  entered  the  enemy's 
works  and  were  driven  out,  but  had  re-formed, 
charged  and  entered  the  works  again,  this  time  to 
stay.  We,  also,  were  ordered  to  charge,  and  with  a 
wild  hurrah  we  started  at  double-quick,  and  in  about 
as  short  a  time  as  it  takes  to  write  it,  our  boys  were 
swarming  over  the  Rebel  works  like  bees ;  and  the  Battle  of 
colors  of  the  Twenty-fifth  were  planted  in  the  bat-  New 
tery.  It  was  claimed  that  our  state  colors  were 
the  first  that  floated  over  the  enemy's  intrench- 
ments.  The  distance  where  the  charge  was  made 
between  the  woods  and  the  earthworks  was  about 
two  hundred  yards ;  and  we  had  but  just  started 
when  a  solid  shot — evidently  from  Fort  Thompson 
— came  tearing  along,  struck  a  tree  on  our  right, 
glanced,  and  going  through  the  ranks  of  Company 
A,  killed  comrade  Eli  Pike.  The  shot  struck  him 
in  the  side  and  mangled  him  shockingly.  We  could 
not  stop;  one  glance,  as  we  passed  over  him — •a. 
quivering,  bleeding  mass  of  humanity — was  the  last 
we  saw  of  Eli  Pike,  \hefirst  of  Company  A  to  die 
on  the  battle  field. 


1 10  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

It  was  a  horrible  sight  as  we  entered  the  enemy's 


Mar  h*  wor^s  —  dead  and  dying  men,  dead  and  dying  horses, 
in  every  conceivable  position,  some  alone,  others  in 
little  heaps  of  two  or  three,  all  smeared  with  blood 
Battle  of  and  begrimed  with  powder  and  dirt.  Many,  per- 
B  haps  most,  of  the  Rebels,  were  shot  in  the  head.  We 
noticed  a  dead  Rebel  soldier,  seated  on  a  log,  his 
rifle  beside  him,  and  his  back  supported  against  a 
tree.  He  had  been  shot  in  the  act  of  eating  a  piece 
of  bread  ;  the  mouthful  bitten  off  remained  between 
his  teeth,  while  the  right  hand  still  holding  the  loaf 
was  raised  to  his  lips.  Death  had  come  like  a  flash, 
and  his  limbs  were  rigid  in  an  instant.  This  was  a 
very  singular  case. 

The  enemy  were  now  in  full  retreat  towards  New 
Berne,  a  portion  of  one  regiment  marching  off  in 


etreatof     Q(j  or(jer  with  colors  flying  ;  but  the  road,  as  was 

the  enemy.  s  '       &  ' 

the  case  at  Roanoke,  was  strewn  with  guns  and 
equipments  thrown  away  in  the  hasty  flight.  Our 
regiment  formed  soon  after,  and  Company  A  was 
sent  to  skirmish  through  the  woods  towards  the 
railroad,  which  we  did,  capturing  many  prisoners, 
then  following  the  railroad  towards  New  Berne, 
where  were  crowds  of  Rebels  flying  to  the  city. 


. .._    ^..  - 


W  V    x          2 

v»    p*    f  ,     - 


' 


V     V 

\ 


2$th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.                            in 
On  either  side  were  seen  many  of  the  enemy  making  

T  Rfio 

signs  which  indicated  their  desire  to  surrender. 

Gen.  Foster  on  horseback  rode  along  with  Com- 
pany A  as  we  pushed  on  towards  the  town.  We 
soon  noticed  a  huge  column  of  black  smoke  rising 
high  over  New  Berne,  and  saw  at  once  that  the 
Rebels  had  set  the  city  on  fire — a  Moscow  on  a 
small  scale !  We  soon  reached  the  Trent  River, 
and  found  the  railroad  bridge,  some  fifteen  hundred 
feet  long,  in  flames  and  rapidly  going  to  destruction. 
We  stopped  but  a  short  time  on  the  banks  of  the 
Trent,  and  then  crossed  over  in  small  steamers  and 

New 

took  possession  of  the  town.    The  gunboats  all  this   Berne. 
time  had  been  fighting  their  way  up  the  river,  reach- 
ing the  town  before  the  troops,  and  were  assisting 
in  putting  out  the  fires. 

So  ended  the  Battle  of  New  Berne,  with  a  loss  to 
the  Twenty-fifth  Regiment  of  twenty-six  killed  and 
wounded.  Our  Company  had  one  man  killed.  The 
total  Union  loss  was  one  hundred  killed  and  about 
five  hundred  wounded.  We  captured  several  hun- 
dred prisoners,  thousands  of  muskets,  thirty  pieces 
of  artillery,  and  a  large  quantity  of  ammunition.  The 
Rebel  loss  in  killed  and  wounded  is  not  known,  but 
probably  it  was  less  than  ours. 
15 


CHAPTER  VII. 

NEW  BERNE  AND  CAMP  OLIVER. 

—  HPHE  BUILDING  in  New  Berne  occupied  by 
Company  A  was  known  as  the  Merchants'  Bank, 
and  was  located  on  Craven  street.  The  door  was 
locked,  but  the  axes  of  the  pioneers  had  opened  it, 
and  we  were  at  once  in  comfortable  quarters.  The 
building  had  been  cleaned  out,  but  we  had  a  nice 

Our 

quarters,  shelter,  and  it  was  a  striking  contrast  to  the  last  few 
days, — one  night  we  bivouac  in  the  woods  in  mud 
and  rain,  the  next  we  are  in  a  brick  house  in  town, 
sleeping  on  mattresses  borrowed  from  the  neighbors. 
This  is  the  ebb  and  flow  of  a  soldier's  life — famine 
one  day,  feast  the  next. 

Tired  out  as  we  were  with  the  work  of  the  last 
few  days,  we  were  glad  of  a  chance  to  rest.  This 
battle  of  New  Berne  was  fought  on  Friday.  We 
also  landed  at  Roanoke  on  a  Friday — unlucky  days 
for  somebody,  but  not  for  us. 


Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  113 

"Saturday  morning  found  us  all  right,  and  after  

breakfast  there  was  a  general  scouting  around  for  "  2* 
— of  course — something  to  eat ;  and  the  result  of 
this  still  hunting  was  a  dinner — shall  I  describe  it  ? 
Turkeys,  two  kinds,  boiled  and  stewed  ;  hot  biscuit 
and  butter  ;  and — tell  it  not — syrup,  preserved 
peaches  and  honey.  How  did  we  do  it  ?  The  boys 
of  Company  A  were  always  in  luck.  We  found  one 
room  in  the  bank  building  which  was  locked ;  we  ,.r 

dinner. 

opened  it,  and  found  it  was  the  store-room  of  the 
family  that  had  resided  in  the  building.  Here  were 
all  sorts  of  preserved  fruit  in  goodly  quantities, — 
peaches,  tamarinds,  berries,  etc. ;  and  the  "scouts" 
brought  in  butter,  flour,  turkeys,  and  a  solitary 
chicken." 

We  enjoyed  now,  for  a  short  time,  the  poetry  of 
soldiering, — comfortable  quarters  and  duty  light. 
It  seemed  strange  to  wander  about  the  streets  of 
the  captured  city ;  all  was  new  to  northern  eyes. 
Most  of  the  houses  were  abandoned,  but  some  were 
left  with  the  oldest  slaves,  while  the  younger  and 
most  valuable  ones  had  been  taken  away.  Streets 
deserted  and  silent,  save  when  the  stillness  was 
broken  by  the  tramp  of  the  soldier,  the  citizens — 
those  who  remained — keeping  inside  their  houses. 


H4  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

Black  faces  peered  at  us  from  all  quarters,  and  pieces 


of  white  cloth  waved  from  every  corner  and  Negro 
shanty.  The  slaves  did  not  appear  to  be  afraid  of 
the  soldiers,  although  they  had  been  taught  to  fear 
us. 

The  soldiers  and  sailors  had  free  run  in  New 
Berne  for  the  first  twenty-four  hours,  and  then  the 
place  settled  down  in  peace  and  quiet  under  military 
rule.  Of  course  there  was  more  or  less  pillaging, 
but  little  harm  was  done ;  indeed  the  Union  soldiers 
saved  the  place  from  destruction  by  fire  at  the  hands 
of  its  citizens  and  the  Rebel  soldiery.  The  people 
left  New  Berne  in  a  perfect  panic,  and  the  streets . 
ic  an<^  roads  were  covered  with  all  sorts  of  property — 
household  goods,  clothing,  wagons,  and  such  like. 
A  beautiful  piano  was  found  in  one  street,  and  soon 
after  it  might  have  been  seen  in  the  soldiers'  quar- 
ters, the  music  taken  out,  and  horses  feeding  from 
the  case. 

"  I  noticed  a  pleasant-looking  house  one  day  when 
on  guard,  and  found  it  no  exception  to  the  general 
rule — it  was  deserted,  and  nearly  everything  of  value 
had  been  carried  away.  There  were  several  horses 
in  the  stable  and  cows  in  the  field.  A  few  slaves 
stood  around  looking  in  stupid  wonder  at  the  strange 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  115 

visitors.     'Massa's  goned  away,'  they  said.     I  went  

over  the  house  ;  a  piano  with  a  pile  of  sheet  music,  x 
a  poodle  dog,  a  cage  of  canaries,  and  a  large  cat, 
indicated  refinement  and  taste  ;  but  now  desolation 
had  swept  over  everything.  On  the  opposite  side 
of  the  road  was  a  large  vineyard ;  a  few  weeks  later 
Fort  Totten  had  sprung  up  there  and  the  vineyard 
had  disappeared.  It  would  have  been  wiser  for  the 
owners  to  have  stayed  on  the  premises  and  taken 
the  oath  of  allegiance,  for  then  they  would  have 
been  protected ;  but  this  shows  how  great  was  their 
fright." 

Negroes  began  to  come  in  from  the  country 
around,  some  from  Goldsboro,'  who  reported  no  for-  Negroes- 
tifications  between  that  place  and  New  Berne  ;  but 
"dey  is  makin  some."  It  would  seem  that  then  was 
the  time  to  have  cleaned  out  the  enemy  as  far  as 
Goldsboro.' 

The  Rebels  were  very  thoughtful  in  one  way  cer- 
tainly, for  they  had  a  train  of  cars  all  ready  in  case 
of  disaster  to  their  army,  and  it  worked  very  nicely 
for  them,  for  the  train  went  through  New  Berne 
in  a  hurry,  crowded  with  soldiers  skedaddling  from 
the  Boys  in  Blue. 


1 1 6  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

Guard  duty  was  about  all  there  was  for  us  to  do 


for  awhile ;  orders  were  very  strict,  and  after  a  cer- 
tain hour  at  night  all  persons  found  without  passes 
were  to  be  arrested,  so  it  made  a  deal  of  work.  One 
night  three  or  four  sailors  were  brought  into  the 
guard-house  drunk,  one  nearly  insensible.  This  one 
died  before  morning  in  consequence  of  his  debauch. 
We  saw  here  for  the  first  time  women  and  chil- 
dren practicing  the  disgusting  habit  of  snuff  dipping. 
A  small  stick  was  dipped  into  a  snuff  box  and  the 

C         -ff 

dippers.  end  is  then  rubbed  over  the  teeth  and  gums,  talking 
while  the  operation  is  going  on,  the  stick  protruding 
from  the  mouth. 

"A  visit  to  the  battle  ground  gave  us  a  better 
idea  of  the  strength  of  the  fortifications,  and  of  the 
work  performed  in  the  late  battle.  There  were  over 
twenty  vessels  in  the  blockade,  mostly  schooners 
and  brigs,  and  some  appeared  to  be  new.  Mount- 
ing the  breastwork  we  walked  from  Fort  Thompson 

The  battle 

ground.  on  "*e  Ncuse  River  to  the  railroad,  a  distance  of 
one  and  a  half  miles  without  a  break,  save  where 
the  county  road  passed  through.  The  position  was 
a  very  strong  one,  and  ^pon  first  thought  it  seems 
as  if  it  could  have  been  held  ;  but  the  gunboats 
settled  the  matter  by  breaking  the  blockade,  and 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.                            117 
flanking  the  enemy's  works,  furnishing  material  aid   

T  Rfio 

in  the  capture  of  New  Berne." 

March  25th,  our  building  being  wanted  for  a  hos- 
pital, our  officers  selected  for  company  quarters 
another  brick  house  on  Johnston  street,  furnished 
with  marble  chimney  pieces,  mirrors,  and  a  clock, 
and  surrounded  with  a  large  garden,  with  flowers 
and  peach  trees  in  bloom.  It  was  in  a  fine  neighbor- 
hood, quiet  and  retired — who  wouldn't  be  a  soger ! 
We  found  an  old  cooking  stove  in  the  cellar,  and 
set  it  up.  Warm  biscuit,  baked  beans,  etc.  followed. 
Company  A  was  always  in  luck. 

Sunday,  March  3Oth,  the  whole  regiment  turned 
out  and  marched  to  church.  It  was  a  curious  sight 
— pews  filled  with  Blue  Coats  and  glittering  bay- 
onets, six  soldiers  and  six  rifles  to  a  pew,  darkies 
peering  in  at  doors  and  windows,^ the  star  spangled 
banner  in  one  corner,  while  Chaplain  James  in  the 
pulpit  completed  the  picture. 

At  this  time  troops  were  coming  into  New  Berne 
in  large  numbers,  and  camps  were  forming  all  about. 
The  Twenty-fifth  Regiment  had  been  the  first  to 
enter  the  city,  headed  by  Company  A. 

The  city  of  New  Berne  is  situated  at  the  junction 
of  the  Neuse  and  Trent  rivers,  and  is  prettily  laid 


1 1 8  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

out,  with  streets  straight  and  wide  and  completely 


shaded  with  large  trees.  The  gardens  of  New  Berne, 
when  properly  cared  for,  must  have  made  the  place 
an  earthly  paradise.  An  endless  variety  of  flowers 
could  be  found  here,  and  the  floral  procession  con- 
tinued, seemingly,  all  through  the  year.  Beautiful 

_  -  .  +.  <j    *  <j  J 

Natural  .  .     .  .  .  .  1-11 

beauties,  birds  made  music  among  the  trees,  and  at  night  the 
mocking  bird  tuned  his  varied  lays.  Nature  had 
scattered  here  her  benefits  in  lavish  profusion,  and 
grim  war  with  all  its  terrors  could  not  neutralize  her 
power.  The  city  contained  about  twelve  hundred 
white  inhabitants  at  the  time  of  its  capture. 

In  the  latter  part  of  March,  Major  McCafferty 
resigned,  and  our  Captain  was  promoted  to  be 
Major  of  the  Regiment,  First  Lieutenant  Frank  E. 
Goodwin  being  advanced  to  the  command  of  the 

Changes  (^ortlpany ^  jn  consequence  of  this  change  Com- 
pany  A  became  the  eighth  in  line,  instead  of  hold- 
ing the  right  of  the  Regiment,  a  position  we  had 
been  proud  of.  It  was  rather  disheartening.  Offi- 
cers go  up,  companies  go  down — in  rank.  We 
talked  the  matter  over  in  our  quarters.  Had  not  he 
led  us  in  two  victories  ?  Had  not  we  achieved  honor 
and  a  name  under  his  command  ?  So  we  concluded 
to  promote  him — our  pony  Captain — to  be  Major  ; 


2$th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  119 

but  the  trouble  did  not  end  here,  for  in  October  - 
following  Lieutenant-Colonel  Sprague  resigned,  and    I°"2> 
soon  after  Colonel  Upton  did  likewise,  which  left 
Major  Pickett  in  command  of  the  Twenty-fifth  Reg- 
iment as  Colonel.     So  we  promoted  him  again,  and 


we  thought  the  eagles  looked  better  on  his  shoulders 
than  the  captain's  bars.  Nor  was  this  all  ;  at  his 
muster-out,  in  January,  1865,  he  was  breveted  Brig- 
adier-General ;  and  although  Company  A  was  mus- 
tered out  the  preceding  October,  still  we  rejoiced 
at  his  promotion. 

On  the  9th  of  May  the  Regiment  left  New  Berne 
and  went  on  picket  duty  at  the  Red  House,  a  place 
we  became  very  familiar  with,  as  well  as  with  Old 
Bogey,  the  owner,  before  we  left  New  Berne.  This 
place  was  about  nine  miles  from  New  Berne,  and 
half-way  between  the  Neuse  and  Trent  rivers. 

By  noon  the  Regiment  was  on  the  ground,  and 
Camp  Bullock  was  formed,  named  in  honor  of  Hon. 
Alexander  H.  Bullock,  of  Worcester,  Mass.      Here    camp 
Sibley  tents  took  the  place  of  our  old  A  tents.     On  Bullock- 
the  1  3th,  a  scouting  party  under  Col.  Upton,  visited 
the  place  called  Tuscarora,  four  or  five  miles  distant. 
The  enemy  had  an  outpost  here,  and  they  fled  on 
16 


1 20  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

our  approach,  setting  fire  to  a  mill  before  they  de- 

1862.  ,      ,-p,.  ,.  .  ., 

parted.      Ihe  expedition  was  of  no  great  account, 

except  in  giving  us  experience  in  the  sort  of  work 
tions.  we  should  have  to  do  in  North  Carolina. 

On  the  1 5th  of  May  the  Regiment  left  Camp 
Bullock,  and  marched  towards  Trenton.  We  had 
with  us  the  Seventeenth  Massachusetts,  some  of  the 
Third  New  York  Cavalry  (seven  companies),  and 
the  Third  Rhode  Island  Artillery.  The  cavalry  had 
all  the  fighting,  losing  two  men  and  killing  eight  or 
ten  of  the  enemy,  while  the  infantry  marched  there 
and  back,  twenty-five  miles,  without  firing  a  shot. 

Denny,  in  his  "Wearing  the  Blue,"  relates  the 
comical  story  of  Bogey's  old  white  mare  alarming 
the  pickets.  The  plantation  of  Mr.  Bogey  was  sur- 
rounded by  woods,  and  contained  perhaps  twenty 
acres.  It  was  situated  at  the  cross  roads,  one  lead- 
ing to  New  Berne,  one  to  Tuscarora,  and  one  to 
Bachellor's  Creek. 

On  the  25th  of  May  the  Regiment  left  the  Red 

House  and  marched  back   to    New  Berne,  where 

Camp    camp  Oliver  was  formed,  supposed  to  be  named  in 

Oliver. 

honor  of  Gen.   H.   K.  Oliver,  Adjutant-General  of 
Massachusetts. 


2 5th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  121 

The  extensive  pine  forests  which  cover  a  great   

part  of  eastern  North  Carolina,  furnished  the  prin-  I  2t 
cipal  supply  of  the  tar,  turpentine  and  rosin  of  com- 
merce. The  forests  are  almost  entirely  destitute  of 
birds,  and  in  their  depths  the  stillness  is  actually 
oppressive ;  and  so  dense  is  their  growth  that  the 
rays  of  the  sun,  even  at  noonday,  can  scarcely  pen-  s(s 
etrate  the  sombre  shade.  A  pine  forest  is  a  lonely 
world  at  its  best ;  it  lacks  entirely  the  characteristics 
of  other  forests, — the  variety  of  leaves,  the  fragrant 
undergrowth  of  bush  and  shrub,  the  different  forms 
of  the  trees — all  these  are  wanting.  It  is  monoto- 
nous and  the  eye  tires  of  it.  It  has  not  the  cheer- 
ful look  of  other  forests  ;  and  while  the  wind  rustles 
merrily  among  other  trees,  it  moans  and  sighs 
through  the  pines.  It  affected  the  spirits  of  the 
men  in  marching  through  them ;  lively  and  gay 
as  the  boys  usually  were,  they  soon  became  sober 
and  quieted  down  very  much  while  passing  through 
these  dismal  shades. 

The  weather  through  the  month  of  June  was  very 
warm,  but  the  4th  of  July  was  cool  and  comfortable. 
We  had  an  eloquent  oration  delivered  in  a  church  „ 

July  4th. 

by  Chaplain    Horace   James.       He    compared    the 
Rebellion  of  '76  with  that  of  '61.     At  night  we  had 


122  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

a  big  bonfire  iff  our  camp,  and  all  the  regimental 


bands  united  gave  us  music.    The  usual  salutes  were 
fired  morning  and  evening.     So  passed  our  4th  of 

July- 

July  25th  an  expedition  was  made  to  Trenton 
again,  the  Twenty-fifth  and  Twenty-seventh  Massa- 
tions.  chusetts  with  Belger's  Rhode  Island  Battery  com- 
posing the  detachment.  We  returned  to  New  Berne 
the  next  day.  August  6th,  another  expedition  went 
out  from  New  Berne  on  a  scout,  and  returned  on 
the  ;th. 

The  latter  part  of  August  our  Regimental  Band 
was  discharged.  This  was  regretted  by  all.  We  had 
the  best  band  in  the  department,  and  the  loss  was 

Band  dis- 
charged, felt  by  the  whole  body  of  troops  in   New   Berne. 

From  this  time  the  Regiment  had  drums  and  fifes 
only. 

Thus  life  in  New  Berne  glided  away,  and  the 
summer  of  1862  passed  quickly  and  pleasantly. 
So  far  the  health  of  the  Company  had  been  good, 
though  many  of  the  boys  had  been  troubled  with 
chills  and  fever ;  but  no  malady  of  a  serious  nature 
had  appeared.  Recruits  had  been  coming  in  to  the 
Regiment,  and  Company  A  had  received  its  share 
of  first  rate  men,  and  we  were  glad  to  see  them. 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  123 

We  had  fruit  in  abundance  at  New  Berne — figs, 


persimmons,  grapes,  melons,  etc. — all  good  ;  apples, 
too,  but  none  like  those  of  New  England.  Sweet 
potatoes  were  abundant. 

At  the  rear  of  Camp  Oliver  was  a  large  swamp  in 
which  was  a  considerable  body  of  water.  There 
were  a  few  trees  growing  there.  It  was  a  pleasant 
sight  to  see  wild  ducks  swimming  about  in  this 

.  Novel 

swamp  so  near  us.      One  morning  we  saw  eleven    sighis> 
white  cranes  on  one  tree,  presenting  a  very  curious 
sight.     No  one  was  allowed  to  fire  at  them,  and 
they  appeared  as  unconcerned  as  if  they  were  in  the 
wilderness. 

David  Bigelow  and  Charley  Bartlett,  wounded  at 
Roanoke,  had  returned  to  the  Company,  and  were 
now  on  duty  as  usual. 

August  2oth  found  Company  A  on  picket  at  the 
so  called  Harrison  House,  some  four  or  five  miles 
from  New  Berne.  We  were  accompanied  by  Com- 
pany C.  The  camp  here  was  known  as  Camp  Inge. 
Life  on  picket  was  vastly  more  pleasant  than  the  Picket 
ordinary  round  of  camp  duty — there  was  more  free- 
dom and  less  irksome  (though  necessary)  drill,  with 
just  danger  enough  to  give  a  sort  of  fascination  to 
it,  and  keep  the  boys  wide  awake.  The  picket  camp 


1 24  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

was  about  half  a  mile  in  the  rear  of  the  picket  lines, 
and  was  fixed  up  as  comfortable  as  could  be.  The 
boys  made  tables,  stools,  and  bough  houses,  and 
built  ovens ;  washed  their  clothes  and  did  their 
mending;  read,  wrote,  smoked,  played  cards,  etc.; 
but  were  ready  for  a  "Fall  in,  A"  at  any  moment. 
The  picket  guard  was  relieved  every  morning  from 
the  camp.  Unless  there  was  danger  in  so  doing, 
the  boys  on  picket  duty  built  fire  enough  to  cook 
their  coffee  and  make  themselves  comfortable,  a  con- 
stant vigilance  of  course  being  kept  up.  Generally 
there  were  three  men  on  each  post,  and  one  con- 
stantly on  guard.  As  night  comes  on  no  fires  are 
allowed,  and  when  darkness  covers  the  scene  the 

Picket 

duty,  objects  so  familiar  by  daylight  assume  a  different 
look — as  one  of  the  boys  expressed  it :  "The  stumps 
begin  to  walk,  and  everything  moves."  The  soldier 
on  his  lonely  post  will  be  startled  by  sounds  he 
would  not  notice  by  daylight — the  snapping  of  a 
twig  near  him,  or  the  tread  of  some  wild  animal, 
will  keep  him  wide  awake  ;  and  often,  when  no  wind 
is  stirring,  a  tree  will  fall  with  a  tremendous  crash 
that  will  awaken  the  echoes  of  the  forest.  Again, 
the  wind  rises,  and  the  woods  so  still  before  are 
now  filled  with  new  and  strange  sounds  ;  or  perhaps 


Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  125 

a  storm  comes  on,  and  with  getting   chilled    and 


drenched  with  rain,  the  night  drags  slowly  away ; 
but  morning  comes  at  last,  and  with  it  the  ever  wel- 
come relief. 

The  picket  line  extended  from  the  Neuse  to  the 
Trent  rivers,  and  all  were  anxious  to  be  "out  on 
picket."  It  was  when  on  such  duty  that  Charley 
Knowlton  caught  the  deer.  Charley  had  heard  the 
darkies  say  they  had  "seen  deer  run  in  dese  ere 
woods";  and  at  once  visions  of  venison  steak  flitted 

i  •      •  .  ,   i  .   ,  Knowlton 

across  his  imagination,  and  he  soon,  with  some  as-  d  his 
sistance,  slyly  dug  a  pit  in  the  path  in  which  the  deer  pit. 
deer  were  supposed  to  run,  and  carefully  covered  it. 
For  several  days  nothing  disturbed  the  pit,  but  one 
morning  early  he  found  the  game  was  caught,  but 
it  was  a  poor,  sick  cavalry  horse.  There  he  was, 
sticking  his  nose  out  of  the  pit.  What  was  to  be 
done  ? — they  could  not  get  him  out,  and  it  would 
not  do  to  let  him  remain  where  he  was.  So  Charley 
— full  of  expedients — shot  the  poor  old  horse,  and 
buried  him  in  the  pit  he  had  dug  for  the  deer.  There 
is  more  than  one  way — even  out  of  a  pit. 

One  day  while  at  Camp  Inge  a  severe  thunder 
storm  came  up ;  the  boys  off  duty  were  lying  list- 
lessly in  their  tents,  their  rifles  in  a  circle  around 


126  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

each    center   pole.       A    sharp    flash    of    lightning 

came  with  a  loud  clap  of  thunder,  and  struck  in  the 

An     camp,  killing  a  horse.     Part  of  the  bolt  went  down 

incident,  one  of  the  tent  poles,  scattered  the  rifles  in  every 

direction,  but  did  no  harm  to  the  boys  in  the  tent. 

This  was  only  an  incident  in  a  soldier's  life. 

Noon  of  September  23rd  found  Company  A  again 
at  Camp  Oliver.  At  night  fires  were  built  in  the 
company  streets — a  sanitary  measure — and  we 
turned  in  at  "taps,"  tired,  but  a  merry  lot  of  soldiers. 
On  the  24th  of  September  Comrade  Lucius  F. 
Kingman  died  of  diptheria  after  a  few  days'  illness. 
He  was  a  noble  fellow — kind  hearted,  pleasant,  and 
a  true  soldier.  He  was  buried  at  New  Berne. 

Some  months  before,  just  after  the  Battle  of 
Roanoke,  Comrade  Thomas  Earle,  somewhat  to  the 
surprise  of  the  other  members,  left  the  Company 
A  on  a  furlough,  and  went  back  to  Massachusetts  ;  and 
promotion  great  was  the  astonishment  when,  after  the  Battle 
of  New  Berne,  he  returned  a  lieutenant  in  the  same 
company  he  had  left  thirty  days  before  as  a  private 
soldier.  It  was  rather  galling  to  the  rest,  but  queer 
things  happen  in  the  army  frequently.  It  would 
seem  almost  as  a  rule  that  commissions  were  not 
won  in  the  field,  but  obtained  through  influence 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  127 

at  home.  September  i,  Lieutenant  Earle  resigned 
— a  privilege  officers  have  ;  privates,  if  I  remember 
rightly,  do  not  have  that  privilege — and  this  brought 
about  other  changes  in  the  Company.  "Old  Posey" 
became  Second  Lieutenant,  and  Burr,  or  "Birdie" 
was  made  Orderly  Sergeant,  the  vacancies  in  the 
Sergeants'  ranks  being  filled  by  others. 

It  may  be  well,  in  this  place  to  give  a  list  of  the 
boys  of  "Old  Company  A"  who  received  commis- 
sions. It  will  be  seen  that  some  were  commissioned 
in  other  regiments ;  but,  while  we  did  not  like  to 
part  with  old  faces,  we  rejoiced  at  the  good  fortune 
of  those  who  obtained  promotion,  and  we  regarded 
it  as  additional  honor  to  the  Company. 

LIST    OF    PROMOTIONS    OF    CO.    A    MEN. 

Captain  Josiah  Pickett,  to  Maj.  and  Col.   25th  ; 

Bv.  Brig.-Gen. 

First  Lieut.  F.  E.  Goodwin,  to  Capt. 
Second  Lieut.  M.  B.  Bessey,  to  ist  Lt.  &  Capt. 
Orderly  Sergeant  G.  A.  Johnson,  to  Second 

Lieut. 

Sergeant  Geo.  Burr,  to  First  Lieut. 
Sergeant  J.  J.   McLane,  to  Second  Lieut,  "ist 

N.  C.  Union  Vols. 


128  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

Corporal  Jaalam  Gates,  to  Capt.  U.  S.  Colored 


1862.  r~ 

1  roops. 
Corporal  John  A.  Chenery,  to  First  Lieut  and 

Adjutant,  ist  N.  C.  Union  Vols. 
Corporal  Lewis  J.  Elwell,  to  Sergeant  Major. 
Private  Thomas  Earle,  to  Second  Lieut. 
Private  James  M.  Hervey,  to  First  Lieut.  N.  C. 

Union  Vols. 

motions       Private  John  L.  Goodwin,  to  ist  Lt.,  57th  Mass. 
Private  C.  L.  Hutchins,  to  Lieut.  LT.  S.  Vols. 
Private  S.  W.   Phillips,   to   First   Lieut.   U.   S. 

Colored  Troops. 

Private  Henry  W.  Reed,  to  Signal  Corps. 
Private  Geo.  L.  Seagrave,  to  First  Lieut.  U.  S. 

Colored  Troops. 

Private  Hiram  Staples,  to  Signal  Corps. 
Private  Augustus  Stone,  to  Second  Lieut.,  4th 

Mass.  Heavy  Artillery. 
Private  Julius  M.  Tucker,  to  First  Lieut.,  57th 

Mass. 

Private  Hale  Wesson,  to  Signal  Corps. 
Private  C.  B.  Kendall,  to  Lieut.,  Adj.  &  Capt. 
Private  Sylvanus  Bullock,  to  Lieut.  U.  S.  Vols. 
Private  T.  M.  Ward,  to  ist  Lieut,  and  Capt. 
Private  Edwin  A.  Morse,  to  Lieut.  36th  Mass. 


Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  129 

September  i5th  the  Regiment  left  New  Berne 


.  .  .    r  1862. 

with  other  troops  on  transport  steamers,  and  alter  a 

delightful  day's  sail  through  Pamlico  and  Albemarle 
Sounds,  passing  Roanoke  Island  on  the  way,  reached 
Plymouth,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Roanoke  River.  The 
object  intended  was  an  invasion  of  the  interior 
of  the  State,  but  that  being  abandoned,  we  returned 
to  New  Berne,  having  enjoyed  a  fine  excursion  of 
over  four  hundred  miles. 

Colonel  Upton  left  for  home  October   28.      Ill 
health  and  other  considerations  compelled  him  to   tion    * 
sever  his  connection  with  the  Regiment,  to  the  re-     c°l- 
gret  both  of  himself  and  his  command.    An  elegant 
sword,  which  cost  one  thousand  dollars,  was  pre- 
sented to  him  by  the  private  soldiers  of  the  Regi- 
ment, as  a  token  of  their  esteem. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

EXPEDITIONS. 

(~)N  THE  3Oth  of  October  six  companies  of  the 

1862.  Regiment  left  New  Berne  in  light  marching  order, 
and  going  on  bqard  transports,  sailed  for  Washing- 
ton, N.  C.,  one  hundred  miles  distant.  During 
our  brief  stay  at  this  place  Company  A  was  quar- 
tered in  a  large  tobacco  warehouse ;  and  for  amuse- 
ment, squads  were  sent  out  to  pick  up  negroes  and 
bring  them  to  the  quarters,  where  they  were  made 
to  show  their  agility  in  dancing.  One  old  darky 
Fun  with  was  brought  i°>  a  ring  formed  around  him,  and  he 
the  was  told  to  dance.  "But  I'se  got  de  rheumatiz,"  he 
said.  "Never  mind,  you  must  dance,"  and  the  boys 
struck  up  a  low,  monotonous  tune,  keeping  time  by 
patting  their  hands  on  their  knees.  The  old  fellow 
began  to  dance  slowly  and  clumsily  at  first,  but  as 
he  warmed  up  he  threw  off  his  jacket  and  shook  his 


2$th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  131 

heels  as  lively  as  a  boy,  the  soldiers  shouting,  "Go 
it,  rheumatiz,"  "Sail  in,  old  rheumatics,"  "Go  it 
while  you're  young,"  and  the  like.  The  old  man 
appeared  to  enjoy  it  as  well  as  the  boys,  and  when 
he  became  tired  he  put  on  his  old  ragged  coat,  and 
walked  away  laughing  heartily.  Another  negro  was 
brought  in — a  young  fellow.  "I  can't  dance  for  you, 
sogers,"  "Suppose  you  try,"  said  one  of  the  boys. 
"I  can't,  I'se  religious."  "The  h — 1  you  are,"  said 
one.  "Does  it  hurt  you  much  ?"  said  another.  "What 
church  do  you  belong  to?"  asked  the  third.  "I'se 
a  Methodis,"  he  responded.  "Let  him  go,  boys," 
said  the  Sergeant,  and  he  walked  quietly  away. 
Another  was  brought  in,  struggling  violently  with 
the  soldiers,  who  were  trying  to  pacify  him  by  telling 
him  no  harm  was  intended.  Once  in  the  ring,  he 
looked  wildly  around,  then  making  a  sudden  spring 
he  broke  through  the  crowd  and  ran  like  a  deer, 
amid  the  shouts  of  the  boys. 

When  we  reached  Washington  the  artillery  and 
cavalry  coming  overland  from  New  Berne  had  not 
arrived,  and  we  were  obliged  to  wait  for  them.  Col.  tnston- 
Pickett  said  he  did  not  wish  to  confine  the  men  to 
quarters  while  in  Washington,  but  would  give  them 
the  run  of  the  town.  There  was  to  be  no  rioting  or 


132  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

pillaging  ;  he  expected  they  would  behave  like  men, 


and  that,  at  the  sound  of  the  drum,  every  one  would 
be  in  his  place.  Guns  were  stacked,  sentinels  posted, 
and  the  boys  scattered  to  seek  such  amusement  as 
they  thought  best.  We  have  seen  how  Company 
A  boys  amused  themselves.  It  was  some  three 
hours  or  more  before  the  other  troops  arrived,  but 
at  the  first  sound  of  the  drum  the  men  came  troop- 
ing from  all  directions,  and  before  it  ceased  beating 
every  one  was  in  place,  and  every  gun  taken  when 
the  order  "take  arms"  was  given.  The  Colonel  was 
much  pleased,  and  complimented  the  boys  on  their 
promptness. 

We  left  Sunday  morning,  November  2nd,  march- 
ing through  a  thinly  settled  country,  the  Twenty- 
TarborJ  ^\h  having  the  tedious  duty  of  guarding  the  baggage 
march,  train.  About  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  the  ad- 
vance (Forty-fourth  Mass.,  nine  months'  men)  met 
the  enemy  and  had  a  skirmish,  with  a  small  loss  to 
the  Union  troops,  the  cavalry  and  artillery  doing 
most  of  the  fighting.  This  skirmish  took  place  at 
an  extensive  swamp  through  which  flowed  a  con- 
siderable stream  of  water  that  crossed  the  road  we 
were  traveling ;  at  this  point  was  the  fighting,  and 
we  passed  several  dead  Rebels,  one  rolled  in  his 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  133 

blanket,  with  his  head  bound  up.      Broken  cannon   

also  lay  here.  We  soon  after  bivouacked  for  the 
night.  This  place  was  called  Rawl's  Mill. 

Early  morning  saw  us  again  on  the  road,  and 
marching  through  a  much  better  country.  Williams- 
ton,  on  the  Roanoke  River,  was  reached  about 
noon.  This  was  a  pretty  village  of  ten  or  twelve 
hundred  inhabitants.  We  halted  here  until  4  p.  M., 
and  in  the  meantime  set  about  getting  something 

On  the 

to  eat  as  usual.  Our  foragers  were  very  successful, 
and  brought  in  a  variety  of  food.  For  instance,  we 
had  beef,  hog,  sheep,  chickens — all  just  killed,  and 
salt  horse.  Soldiers  say,  "Live  to-day  if  you  die  to- 
morrow." We  were  marching  through  a  good 
country  and  lived  accordingly. 

The  march  was  resumed,  the  route  turning  for  a 
few  miles  towards  Hamilton,  and  by  10  P.  M.  we 
again  went  into  bivouac.  Sunrise  next  morning 
found  us  once  more  on  the  road,  and  our  march  was 
through  woods  at  times  on  fire  both  sides  of  the 
way.  At  noon  we  came  to  a  more  open  country, 
near  what  is  known  as  Rainbow  Bluff.  It  was  un- 
derstood we  might  have  trouble  here,  but  we  found 
no  opposition.  This  bluff,  forty  or  fifty  feet  above 
the  water,  had  been  strongly  fortified,  and  com- 


134  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

manded  the  river,  but  the  enemy  had  disappeared. 


We  found  our  gunboats  at  this  point ;  they  were  to 
ascend  the  river  while  we  continued  our  march 
towards  Hamilton.  This  place,  another  pretty  vil- 
lage of  a  few  hundred  people,  was  reached  about  3 
p.  M.,  and  we  had  a  rest,  with  a  "good  square  meal," 
until  6  o'clock,  when  we  heard  the  order  "Fall  in." 
Thus  far  the  country  was  much  better  than  around 
New  Berne. 

During  our  halt  near  Williamston  we  found  with 
other  plunder,  a  number  of  square  wooden  bee  hives. 
Quicker  than  it  could  be  spoken  the  hives  were 
burst  open  and  the  contents  distributed  among  the 
boys.  Ludicrous  sight — a  score  of  soldiers  eating 
honey  in  the  comb  like  so  much  bread  and  butter. 
Comrade  Goulding  found  here  in  a  house  a  small 
-  cask  partly  filled  with  wine.  The  darkies  said  it  was 
"fe  church  wine  for  de  communion."  "The  d — 1," 
said  Goulding,  "you  bet  it  belongs  to  Company  A 
now,  the  best  way  you  can  cook  it";  and  I  think  it 
did,  for  Company  A  disposed  of  it.  In  bringing  it 
to  the  bivouac  fire  he  had  shaken  it  up  so  much  that 
it  was  roiled  and  did  not  look  clear  and  inviting. 
He  offered  some  to  Captain  Goodwin,  who  looked 
at  it,  smelled  of  it,  and  finally  tasted  it.  "Goulding, 


Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  135 

it  will  kill  you  to  drink  that  stuff."  "Happy  death!"   

1862. 

said  Goulding,  as  he  swallowed  a  generous  allow- 
ance of  the  stuff.     He  survived. 

At  about  10   P.  M.   we   left   Hamilton   in   flames, 
supposed  to  have  been  set  by  the  sailors.      Some 
thought  our  own  boys  were  responsible  for  it.      Be  Burning 
that  as  it  may,  we  marched  from  the  town  by  the      of 
light  of  its  burning  houses.     It  was  a  wild  sight — 
crowds  of  sailors  and  soldiers  marching  through  the 
burning  streets  ;  bayonets  glistening,  flames  roaring, 
and  timbers  crashing.     This  was  war. 

The  next  day's  march  was  a  long  and  tedious  one. 
We  started  at  early  dawn,  and,  with  only  occasional 
halts,  marched  till  midnight,  when  we  bivouacked 
in  a  cornfield  within  a  short  distance  of  the  railroad 
leading  to  Tarboro'.  We  were  thoroughly  exhausted, 
and,  pulling  up  the  dry  corn  stalks  and  laying  them 
thickly  between  the  rows,  made  quite  comfortable 
beds.  A  cold  northeast  storm  set  in  during-  the 

o  comfort. 

night,  but  we  slept  soundly  in  spite  of  it.  "  I  re- 
member being  awakened  by  rain  dashing  in  my  face, 
and  feeling  about  for  my  cap,  which  had  fallen  from 
my  head,  found  it  half  full  of  water."  It  was  a  cold 
and  cheerless  time. 

18 


136  The  Story  of  Company  A, 

Trains  were  heard  running  very  often  during  the 
night,  and  scouts  reported  that  soldiers  by  thousands 
were  pouring  into  Tarboro'.  In  consequence  of  this 
information  it  was  decided  that  an  attack  upon  the 
place  would  be  bad  policy,  and,  after  a  halt  of  some 
hours,  we  commenced  a  retreat.  On  this  march 
Negroes  by  hundreds  followed  us  into  Plymouth. 
treat  ^e  Passe<^  through  Hamilton  again,  this  time  in  a 
heavy  snow  storm,  and  we  now  regretted  the  burn- 
ing of  the  town.  A  few  Negro  cabins  were  all  that 
remained  of  that  pretty  village.  We  stayed  here  all 
night,  and  then  pushed  on  to  Williamston  ;  the  roads 
were  in  horrible  condition,  with  snow  and  mud 
several  inches  deep,  and  many  of  the  boys'  shoes 
were  in  bad  shape.  Walter  Richards  ("Shucks," 
as  we  called  him)  actually  marched  miles  barefooted, 
until  we  found  a  pair  of  shoes  for  him.  We  ap- 
proached Plymouth,  on  the  Roanoke  river,  but  found 
the  bridge  destroyed,  so  we  bivouacked  for  the 
night  while  the  pioneers  reconstructed  it. 

The  march  for  the  last  few  days  had  been  very 
severe,  but  the  boys  boiled  their  coffee,  ate  their 
supper,  smoked  their  pipes,  talked  over  the  events 
of  the  day,  rolled  themselves  in  their  blankets,  and 
soon — save  the  sentries'  tread  as  they  paced  their 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  137 

beats — all  was  quiet  around  the  bivouac  fires.      "I    

1862. 
was  about  to  roll  myself  in  my  blanket  when  Jimmy 

Wesson  touched  me  on  the  arm  and  said :  '  Come 
out  here,  I  can  give  you  a  better  room  than  this'; 
and  following  him  a  short  distance  I  found,  to  my 
surprise,  a  bed  made  up,  with  a  fire  close  by — 

Wesson's 

feather  bed,  sheets,  blankets,  white  pillows,  and  bed. 
everything  in  nice  order.  'Turn  in  here  with  me  ;  I 
reckon  it's  all  right.'  It  was  quite  an  inducement, 
but  I  preferred  to  sleep  by  the  fire."  Soldiers  make 
the  best  of  the  situation,  and  why  should  they  not? 
Where  did  the  bed  come  from  ?  Borrowed,  of  course, 
from  some  house  on  the  road.  On  these  expeditions 
soldiers  took  what  they  wanted  wherever  it  was  to 
be  found,  except  from  houses  occupied,  where  the 
soldiers  were  treated  civilly.  Probably  nine-tenths 
of  the  Southern  people  would  have  been  better  off 
if  they  had  stayed  at  home  and  tried  to  take  care  of 
their  property,  taking  the  oath  of  allegiance. 

In  the  morning  (Nov.  10)  we  crossed  the  bridge 
and  entered  Plymouth.  The  Twenty-fifth  and  the 
Twenty-seventh,  with  some  cavalry,  remained  here, 
but  most  of  the  troops  left  at  once  for  New  Berne. 
We  had  comfortable  quarters  in  a  house,  but  as  we 
had.no  extra  clothing  and  the  nights  were  cold,  we 


138  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

suffered  some  until  our  blankets  were  sent  on  from 

New  Berne.  Plymouth  was  a  very  pretty  town  of 
some  twelve  hundred  inhabitants,  with  two  churches, 
a  hotel,  court  house,  jail,  pillory,  and  whipping  post. 
The  latter  the  boys  of  Company  A  tipped  over  and 
smashed.  The  streets  were  shaded  with  large  elm 
'trees,  as  those  of  many  Southern  villages  were. 
Many  trees  were  covered  with  English  ivy  hanging 
in  long  festoons  from  their  branches.  We  feasted 
on  persimmons  while  here.  This  fruit  was  new  to 
most  of  us  ;  it  is  a  sort  of  date  plum,  and  is  not 
palatable  until  touched  or  mellowed  by  frost ;  it  then 
becomes  soft  and  agreeable  to  the  taste.  They  were 
much  sought  for  by  the  boys  during  our  stay  in 
Plymouth.  Grapes,  sweet  potatoes,  and  corn  we 
also  had  in  abundance. 

There  was  a  miller  in  Plymouth,  and  the  soldiers 
would  forage  for  provisions  and  bring  in,  with  other 
stuff,  lots  of  corn,  and  the  miller  would  grind  it  for 

Deceiving 

the  miller,  them.  This  was  very  good.  But  the  miller  had  a 
large  lot  of  corn  stored  in  his  mill,  and,  as  the  grain 
became  scarce  outside,  some  of  the  soldiers  managed 
slyly  to  get  at  the  miller's  store,  and  would  steal 
corn  from  one  end  of  the  mill  and  carry  it  around  to 
the  other,  and  have  the  miller  grind  it,  he  taking 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  139 

meal  for  pay.     This  trick  worked  nicely  for  a  short   

1862. 
time,  but  it  was  discovered  by  the  miller  at  last,  and 

I  am  quite  sure  he  did  not  pray  for  us,  although  he 
was  a  very  good  man.  Thus,  by  this  simple  process, 
we  kept  the  miller  busy,  and  had  fresh  ground  meal 
for  ourselves.  Soldiers  are  full  of  expedients,  and 
this  was  one. 

The  Union  men  in  Plymouth  had  formed  a  com- 
pany of  soldiers.  We  called  them  "Buffaloes,"  and 

Buffaloes. 

they  did  some  good  service.  Some  of  our  boys 
received  commissions  in  these  "Buffalo"  companies  ; 
and  all  agree  that  they  made  good  soldiers,  and 
were  Union-loving  men. 

On  this  Tarboro'  march,  the  Forty-fourth  Massa- 
chusetts Regiment — nine    months'    men    who    had 
received  quite  large  bounties — was  the  best  clothed 
regiment  in  the  expedition.       The    march    proved 
severe  for  its  men,  and  many  of  them  threw  away/?^,.^ 
their  overcoats,  which  were  very  nice  ones.      Our  overcoats. 
boys  "gobbled"  them  at  once,  and  when  we  reached 
our  old  camp  at  New  Berne  we  were  much  better 
off  in  the  way  of  overcoats  than  when  we  left. 

On  the  return  march  from  Hamilton,  Jimmy 
Wesson  picked  up  an  old  two-wheeled  mule  cart 
with- mule  attached.  Jimmy  was  always  very  dis- 


140  The  Story  of  Company  A, 

interested  ;  and  this  cart  would  be  such  a  nice  thing- 


for  the  boys,  to  carry  the  overcoats  and  blankets  of 
those  who  had  them,  and  to  help  the  tired  ones  by 
giving  them  a  ride.  He  soon  had  a  load,  and  it 
worked  well.  Just  then  three  or  four  of  the  Forty- 

Wesson's  r          ,    ,  ,  ., 

m«lecart.uri"  ^oys  came  along  pretty  well  used  up,  and  in 
spite  of  all  protests,  mounted  the  cart.  Jimmy 
quietly  got  down  to  "fix  the  harness  a  bit,"  and  he 
did  fix  it.  Suddenly  up  went  the  thills  and  over 
went  the  cart  backwards,  tipping  out  blankets  and 
overcoats,  and  laying  the  Forty-fourth  men  sprawl- 
ing in  the  dust.  They  picked  themselves  up  and 
beat  a  retreat  amid  roars  of  laughter.  Willing  hands 
helped  to  reload  the  cart,  and  Jimmy  rode  on  in 
triumph.  Now  when  we  reached  Plymouth,  and 
the  boys  thankfully  received  their  overcoats  from 
the  cart,  the  vehicle  was  found  to  be  more  than  half 
filled  with  the  private  plunder  of  this  same  disin- 
terested Jimmy. 

While  in  Plymouth  we  heard  of  the  death  of  Com- 
ra^G  Edwin  D.  Waters,  of  Company  A.  He  was  a 
fine  soldier  and  a  noble-hearted  fellow.  He  hailed 
from  Millbury,  and  was  about  twenty-six  years  old. 
Some  thought  he  actually  died  from  getting  low- 
spirited  and  discouraged  about  the  war.  No  doubt 


2$th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  141 

many  soldiers  did  die  from  this  cause  alone.    Waters 


was  in  the  hospital  at  New  Berne  at  the  time  of  his 
death. 

While  occupying  Plymouth,  Captain  Parkhurst 
was  acting  Provost  Marshal,  Colonel  Pickett  being 
in  command.  On  this  march  we  had  no  clothes 
aside  from  those  on  our  backs,  and  as  weeks  went 
by,  we  got  into  a  pretty  bad  condition.  We  were 
ragged,  dirty  and — the  word  must  be  said — lousy,  become 
So  we  concluded  to  have  a  washing  day,  every  man  lomy" 
to  be  his  own  washerwoman.  Fires  were  built  in  the 
rear  of  the  house  we  occupied,  kettles  procured, 
and  at  it  we  went.  We  took  off  all  the  clothes  we 
could  possibly  spare,  and  thrust  them  into  the  kettles 
of  boiling  water  to  kill  the  graybacks  (vermin) ,  and 
after  some  time  boiling,  gave  them  a  thorough  wash- 
ing. Meantime  a  comical  sight  presented  itself — 
soldiers  moving  about  trying  to  keep  warm,  wearing 
an  airy  costume  for  the  season — army  cap,  overcoat, 
and  brogans, — "Only  these  and  nothing  more";  but 
we  came  out  victorious,  for  we  beat  the  graybacks. 

Many  people  came  into  Plymouth  from  the  coun- 
try while  we  were  there,  coming  often  many  miles 
down  the  river  in  dugouts — a  kind  of  canoe  made 
from. a  single  log.  These  people  were  both  whites 


142  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

and  blacks,  and  were  seeking  protection  under  the 


1862. 

starry  nag. 

Thanksgiving  day  found  'us  still  at  Plymouth, 
Company  A  on  guard.  Some  were  posted  on  board 
the  schooner  Skirmisher  to  guard  prisoners.  We 

Thanks- 

up  the  time-honored  custom  as  best  we  could 


New 


in  old  North  Carolina,  and  so  had  a  chicken  dinner. 
When  we  reached  Plymouth  our  wagon  train  had 
increased  much  in  length,  and  was  over  four  miles 
long. 

We  left  Plymouth  on  December  8th,  passing  down 
the  Roanoke  River,  which  is  a  narrow  but  deep 
stream,  into  the  Sound  past  Roanoke  Island,  and 
reached  New  Berne  about  3  P.  M.  of  the  loth  ;  and 
were  ordered  off  again  at  7  A.  M.  of  the  i  ith.  This 

Berne.  fe  ' 

was  soldiering.  We  had  been  absent  from  New 
Berne  nearly  six  weeks,  had  traveled  a  distance  of 
over  four  hundred  miles,  and  actually  marched  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  miles. 

Immediately  on  our  reaching  camp  the  cooks 
were  set  to  work  to  cook  rations  for  the  expedition 
of  the  following  day.  This  is  always  the  first  step 
in  preparing  for  a  march  —  to  get  the  rations  ready. 
Little  time  was  there  for  the  ordinary  camp  gossip 
and  fun,  but  what  time  we  had  was  used  to  the  best 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  143 

advantage  in  putting  our  shoes  and  clothing  in  good   

order,  overhauling  our  rifles  and  equipments,  look- 
ing into  knapsacks,  and  making  everything  ship- 
shape. A  soldier's  rifle  is  supposed  to  be  always 
ready.  For  the  first  time  in  six  weeks  we  had  an 
opportunity  to  change  our  shirts. 

Large  numbers  of  -troops  had  been  gathered  in 
New  Berne  during  our  absence,  so  that  when  the 
expedition  started,  on  the  morning  of  December 
nth,  it  comprised  four  brigades  commanded  by 
General  Wessels,  and  Colonels  Amory,  Stevenson 
and  Lee.  These  brigades  were  made  up  of  twenty  Goidsbor 
regiments,  of  which  twelve  were  Massachusetts  men.  ^" 
The  Ninth  New  Jersey  accompanied  us  as  an  inde- 
pendent organization.  Belger's  Rhode  Island  Bat- 
tery and  portions  of  other  batteries  were  with  the 
column,  making  all  told  probably  twenty  thousand 
men,  and  thirty  or  more  pieces  of  artillery.*  The 
expedition  was  commanded  by  General  Foster. 

When  we  started  at  early  daylight  of  the  nth 
there  was  a  heavy  fog,  but  it  cleared  away  in  an 
hour  or  two.  We  took  the  old  road  to  Deep  Gully, 
beyond  which  we  found  the  way  badly  blockaded. 

*The  column  on  this  Goidsboro'  Expedition,  including  all  the  troops,  with 
the  wagons  necessary  for  ammunition  and  supplies,  ambulances,  etc.,  could 
not  have  been  less  than  six  miles  in  length. 

19 


144  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

Heavy  trees  had  been  felled  across  the  road  for  a 


long  distance,  showing  that  the  enemy  had  been 
busy.  The  pioneers  had  a  hard  job  cutting  a  road 
through  this  blockade,  and  after  a  march  of  a  dozen 
miles  from  New  Berne  we  bivouacked  for  the  night. 
We  had  now  frosty  nights,  and  in  spite  of  the  many 
camp  fires,  we  suffered  from  the  cold. 

The  march  of  the  following  day  (Dec.  12)  was 
slow  and  tedious  in  the  extreme — roads  much  ob- 
structed and  bridges  destroyed — so  we  made  even 
less  progress  than  the  day  before.  As  we  passed 
in  the  early  evening  the  bright  fires  of  the  regiments 
already  in  bivouac,  we  thought  our  day's  march  was 
near  its  end,  but  not  so,  for  we  pushed  on,  and  not 
till  after  midnight  did  we  come  to  a  halt.  Saturday, 
the  1 3th,  the  march  was  resumed,  and  at  a  place 
called  Southwest  Creek  the  enemy  made  a  stand, 
but  were  driven  after  a  smart  engagement,  in  which 
Wessels's  Brigade,  the  Ninth  New  Jersey  and  the 
Twenty-third  Massachusetts  took  part.  This  was 
within  five  or  six  miles  of  Kinston.  Our  bivouac 
this  night  was  wretched  and  uncomfortable  enough, 
— the  ground  cold  and  wet,  and  no  fires  allowed. 

Sunday,  the  i4th,  after  a  short  march,  it  appeared 

4k 

that  the  enemy  was  determined  to  make  a  decided 


Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  145 

stand.     The  brigade  of  Wessels  was  again  engaged, 


together  with  the  Seventeenth,  Twenty-third,  Twen- 
ty-fifth and  Forty-fifth  Massachusetts,  and  the  Ninth 
New  Jersey.  The  cannonading  was  very  heavy,  as 
was  also  the  musketry  firing ;  and  we  knew,  as  we 
lay  on  the  ground  waiting  for  our  turn  to  go  in,  that 

Dec.  14. 

the  struggle  was  a  fierce  one.  Soon  the  wounded  Battie  Of 
began  to  be  brought  to  the  rear,  and  we  had  full 
benefit  of  the  sight  as  the  grim  procession  passed 
close  by  us,  still  the  boys  chatted  gaily  as  they  talked 
over  the  situation.  "How  does  it  go?"  asked  one 
of  our  men  of  a  soldier  who  was  assisting  in  bring- 
ing out  the  wounded.  "We  are  driving  them"  was 
the  reply  ;  and  we  all  sprung  to  our  feet  as  we  heard 
the  order,  "Fall  in  Twenty-fifth."  We  moved  rapidly 
into  the  woods,  and  noticed  on  either  side  of  the 
way  the  ground  thickly  dotted  with  the  bodies  of 
the  Blue  and  the  Gray. 

At  this  time  the  enemy  had  again  fallen  back,  and 
on  getting  through  the  woods  we  halted  near  an  old 
weather-beaten,  dismal-looking  building,  said  to  be 
a  church.  Parties  were  detailed  to  bury  the  dead  ; 
Lieutenant  Tew  appeared  to  have  command.  He 
approached  near  where  we  were,  with  two  men 
bearing  a  stretcher,  and  stopped  to  pick  up  a  dead 


146  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

Johnny   (Rebel).      The  body  was   placed    on    the 


stretcher,  one  arm  projecting  over  the  side.  The 
Lieutenant  bent  the  arm  over  the  body,  when  it 
immediately  returned  to  its^  first  position.  Again 
he  replaced  it  and  again  it  moved  back  as  before. 
stubborn  ^e  Lieutenant  looked  a  bit  provoked,  but  tried  it 

Rebel,  the  third  time  with  jhe  same  result.  He  straightened 
up,  and  with  a  look  that  meant  business,  exclaimed, 
"By  G — d,  Johnny,  I  can  fix  you,"  and  thrust  the 
offending  hand  into  the  jacket  of  the  dead  Rebel. 
This  time  it  stayed,  and  the  stretcher  moved  on. 

Shallow  trenches,  not  much  over  two  feet  deep, 
were  dug,  and  side  by  side  the  dead  were  placed 
therein,  their  faces  covered,  and  as  carefully  as 
possible  the  earth  was  hastily  thrown  over  them, 

Has*y  and  the  order  given  to  fall  in.  This  may  seem 
hard — as  one  of  our  boys  expressed  it :  "It's  kind  o' 
rough,  ain't  it  fellers?"  But  there  was  no  other  way 
— nothing  else  could  be  done  under  the  circum- 
stances ;  so  we  marched  on  and  left  them  in  their — 
is  the  next  word  GLORY  ? 

We  reached  the  Neuse  River,  fairly  overlooking 
the  town  of  Kinston.  A  bridge  was  here,  and  it 
was  said  that  General  Foster  sent  a  flag  of  truce 
demanding  a  surrender.  Rebel  General  Evans  did 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  147 

not  see  it  in  that  light  and  politely  declined    the 


honor.  Foster  ordered  up  a  battery  and  threw 
shells  clear  over  the  town  ;  the  enemy  departed,  and 
we  crossed  the  bridge  and  occupied  the  place.  The 
Twenty-fifth  bivouacked  near  the  river  in  an  open 
field.  Fires  were  built,  but  first  we  had  to  get  the 

We 

fence  rails.  "As  a  cold  kitten  makes  for  a  warm  occupy 
brick,  so  does  a  cold  and  hungry  soldier  go  for  dry  Kinston- 
fence  rails."  (A  soldier's  proverb,  and  a  very  true 
one.)  We  took  fences  and  tore  down  buildings 
for  firewood,  cooked  our  coffee,  ate  our  supper  of 
hard-tack,  salt  horse  and  sweet  potatoes  roasted  in 
the  ashes,  and  then  went  visiting  to  look  over  the 
property  and  see  what  we  could  find.  Until  a  late 
hour  that  night  the  boys  were  returning  to  the 
bivouac  fire  bringing  all  sorts  of  stuff  to  eat  and 
drink.  This  seemed  to  be  a  great  wine  country, 
and  we  got  hold  of  some  very  good  wine,  and  apple 
jack  or  apple  brandy,  a  more  plebeian  drink  but  quite 
passable.  We  found  sweet  potatoes  in  any  quantity, 
and  one  goose — mighty  tough  it  was  too,  after  hours 
of  boiling.  We  also  found  much  tobacco. 

There  was  a  fire  in  Kinston  that  night,  and  no 
one  seemed  to  know  how  it  came  about.  Did 
Goulding  know  ? 


148  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

As  we  would  have  to  march  early  in  the  morning 
there  was  no  way  to  carry  the  eatables,  so  they  were 
cooked  at  once,  and  we  ate  the  eatables  and  drank 
the  drinkables,  and  so  settled  that  little  matter  in 
the  quickest  way.  Now  there  was,  strictly  speaking, 
no  pillaging — no  houses  were  interfered  with  that 
were  inhabited — but  there  is  no  doubt  about  it, 
chickens,  pigs  and  "such  like"  did  suffer  some  ;  and 
all  this  on  Sunday,  December  i4th,  1862. 

On  the  1 5th  the  column  was  moving  again.  We 
recrossed  the  bridge  over  the  Neuse,  which  we  then 
destroyed,  and  pushed  on  towards  Whitehall,  making 
a  long  march  of  from  sixteen  to  eighteen  miles,  and 
coming  to  a  halt  late  in  the  evening  about*  three 
miles  from  the  town.  Here,  on  the  morning  of  the 
*'  1 6th,  a  lively  skirmish  took  place,  the  enemy  being 
posted  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river.  For  hours 
the  artillery  firing  was  very  heavy,  and  the  Rebel 
sharpshooters  annoyed  our  troops  very  much.  So 
one  hundred  sharpshooters  were  called  for  from 
the  Twenty-fifth  ;  ten  or  twelve  went  from  Company 
A,  and  all  these  men  did  excellent  service.  After 
three  or  four  hours  of  this  fighting,  in  which  the 
artillery  played  a  conspicuous  part,  the  enemy  with- 
drew, and  our  troops  moved  on,  coming  to  a  halt 


2$th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  149 

a  few  miles  from  Goldsboro'.    Our  troops  destroyed   

a  ram  that  was  building  at  Kinston.  The  loss  to 
the  Union  side  in  this  affair  was  seventy  to  eighty 
killed  and  wounded. 

At  night,  as  we  sat  around  the  bivouac  fire  talk- 
ing over  the  events  of  the  day,  our  sharpshooters 
began  to  come  in.  We  had  been  talking  about 
them ;  some  had  been  wounded,  and  one — Moses 
P.  Brown — was  reported  killed.  This  Brown  was  a 
happy-go-lucky  sort  of  chap,  good-natured,  great 
for  foraging ;  and  every  one  seemed  sorry  that  he 
was  killed.  "He  was  not  so  bad  a  fellow  after  all," 
said  one.  "That's  so,"  said  another,  "good-hearted  Brown 
boy,"  and  so  on.  Just  at  that  moment  who  should 

J  J  Brown 

appear  but  Brown  himself,  loaded  as  usual  with  living. 
plunder,  which  he  threw  down  at  our  feet  with  his 
cheery  "Hello,  fellers."  We  were  astonished.  "Well, 
I'll  be  blowed,"  said  one,  "if  here  ain't  that  cussed 
Brown."  How  soldier-like — praising  him  when  we 
thought  him  dead,  cursing  him  when  we  found  he 
was  alive. 

Brown  was  indeed  well  loaded  down  with  (of 
course)  eatables.  A  ham  stuck  on  his  bayonet,  a 
pair  of  chickens,  and  a  bag  of  sweet  potatoes,  were 
the  principal  things. 


150  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

On  the  morning  of  the   lyth  our  brigade   (Col. 


Lee)  had  the  advance,  and  after  a  short  march 
through  pine  forests,  we  heard  the  sharp  reports  of 
rifles  ahead,  and  knew  that  the  enemy  had  made 
another  stand.  At  this  time  a  battery  came  tearing 
down  the  road,  passed  rapidly  through  the  column 
on  its  way  to  the  front,  and  turning  into  the  fields 
on  the  right,  crossed  a  small  stream,  and  took  a 
position  on  a  slight  elevation  that  commanded  the 
Dec.  17.  meacjow  m  frOnt  and  the  railroad  beyond.  Behind 

Battle  of 

railroad  stood  the  Rebel  brigades,  said  to  be 


commanded  by  Evans  and  Clingman,  with  Pettigrew 
as  a  support.  Our  regiment  crossed  the  stream, 
which  was  small  and  shallow,  and  took  a  position  to 
the  left  of  the  battery,  which  opened  on  the  enemy 
and  made  quick  work  with  them.  They  were  thrown 
into  disorder,  and  soon  were  in  full  retreat.  They 
fell  back  across  the  river  and  again  formed,  when 
the  battery  took  another  position  and  we  followed, 
and  coming  to  a  halt,  laid  down  on  the  ground  close 
to  and  in  front  of  the  guns,  which  opened  again  on 
the  enemy,  sending  shell  directly  over  our  heads. 
"Lay  low,  Twenty-fifth,"  sung  out  the  battery  boys  ; 
and  I  think  we  did.  "Down  your  colors."  The 
flag  held  upright,  was  brought  down  to  the  ground 


2 $th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  151 

as  directed.     The  battery  boys  behaved  splendidly ; 


we  could  hear  the  orders  given  to  them,  and  see  how 
quickly  they  were  obeyed.  '  It  was  like  the  working 
of  a  machine.  Meantime  regiments  had  been  sent 
to  destroy  the  railroad  ;  this  was  a  remarkable  sight. 
A  regiment  formed  beside  the  track,  and  at  the  word 

Battle  of 

all  lifted  at  once  and  rolled  the  track  right  over  and 
down  the  bank.  Some  built  fires  of  sleepers,  and 
laying  rails  across  piled  others  on  them,  thus  bend- 
ing the  iron  out  of  shape.  A  Lieutenant  Graham, 
of  the  Twenty-third  New  York  Battery,  volunteered 
to  burn  the  railroad  bridge,  which  he  did  successfully, 
performing  a  most  perilous  feat. 

The  enemy  had  again  been  forced  to  retire,  and 
we  were  ordered  to  fall  back,  which  we  did,  crossing 
the  little  stream  again.  As  we  were  to  be  the  rear 
guard  we  waited  for  the  column  to  pass.  It  was 
quite  late  in  the  afternoon,  and  we  were  resting 
quietly,  feeling  that  our  day's  work  was  about  done, 
when  we  noticed  a  commotion  among  the  battery 
boys.  The  cavalry,  too,  we  could  see  were  uneasy, 
and  appeared  to  be  looking  intently  to  the  front. 
Soon  we  heard  the  Rebel  yell,  apparently  in  the 
same  meadow  from  which  they  had  been  driven, 
and  knew  there  was  trouble  ahead.  We  saw  the 

20 


152  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

battery  men  move  the  guns  forward.      Then  a  call 


was  made  for  support,  and  we  were  ordered  back  to 
the  field.  The  enemy  charged  on  our  guns,  and 
the  batteries  began  to  speak.  It  was  a  sight  to  see 
how  rapidly  they  were  fired.  We  crossed  the  little 

Battle  of  i        i     i         i       •        i  •   •  i 

Goldsbord,  stream  once  more,  reached  the  desired  position,  and 
laid  down  in  close  column  by  division,  almost  under 
the  guns  of  Belger's  Battery,  which  we  were  to  sup- 
port. In  the  meantime  the  Rebels  formed  in  three 
lines  and  were  making  for  our  guns,  but  these  were 
taking  care  of  themselves.  We  could  hear  the  boys 
at  the  battery  talk  coolly  with  each  other.  "Here  is 
a  shot  for  the  old  flag! "  they  shouted  as  a  gun  was 
fired,  and  a  shell  went  screaming  through  the  air  on 
its  deadly  mission,  making  a  great  lane  through  the 
ranks  of  the  Gray.  "Here  is  one  for  Uncle  Abe  !" 
"Here's  one  for  the  Twenty-fifth ! "  and  "Here  is 
one  for  the  devil !  "  as  the  guns  were  fired  in  rapid 
succession.  No  machine  could  have  worked  more 
steadily  than  did  Belger's  Battery  in  the  fight  at 
Goldsboro'  Bridge. 

And  now  the  Twenty-fifth  boys  began  to  go 
wounded  to  the  rear.  We  were  in  a  bad  place ; 
shots  from  both  sides  passed  over  our  heads,  and 
we  could  not  fire  a  gun.  Our  time  had  not  come — 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  153 

it  did  not  come  in  that  battle.      Our  cavalry  had   

,  .  .         1862. 

meantime  charged  over  and  over  again,  and  against 

that  terrible  fire  from  Belger's  and  Morrison's  bat- 
teries no  human  power  could  stand,  so  the  Rebels 
fell  back  across  the  meadow  and  beyond  the  rail- 
road out  of  sight,  leaving  the  ground  thickly  strewn 
with  their  dead  and  wounded. 

"We  were  all  lying  on  the  ground,  shots  flying 
thickly  around  us,  orders  to  lay  low.  Col.  Pickett, 
expecting  an  order  to  advance  his  regiment,  had 
mounted  a  stump,  and  was  carefully  looking  the  Pi^ifs 
ground  over  in  his  front  to  get  his  bearings.  'Lay 
low,  boys,'  he  repeated,  when  a  soldier  looked  up 
at  him  with  the  very  pat  question,  'Why  don't  you 
lay  low  yourself,  Colonel?'  We  heard  no  answer 
to  the  question,  but  did  hear  sundry  expressions,  as 
'Good  hit,'  'Pretty  well  put,'  and  the  like." 

Again  we  fell  back,  but  the  little  stream  we  had 
crossed  so  many  times  was  now  swollen  to  a  broad, 
deep,  swift-running  torrent,  still  rising ;  but  we 
jumped  in  and  struggled  through  as  best  we  could, 
holding  rifles  and  cartridge  boxes  high  to  keep  them 
dry.  The  cavalry  and  artillery  had  no  trouble  in 
crossing,  but  many  of  the  infantry  boys  were  washed 
down  stream ;  some  got  out  and  some  were  lost. 


154  The.  Story  of  Company  A. 

It  was  now  dark  and  grew  cold  very  fast ;  we  were 

1862.   . 

in  a  sad  plight  for  our  clothes  froze  on  us  as  we 

marched.  We  soon  reached  the  woods ;  these  had 
been  set  on  fire  by  the  troops  ahead  of  us,  but  this 
served  a  good  purpose,  for  it  helped  to  make  us 

Burning  _  . 

forest  warm-  It  was  a  thrilling  sight ;  the  names  were 
roaring  on  both  sides  of  the  road,  and  ahead  it  was 
one  mass  of  fire — a  glimpse  of  hell !  The  sudden  rise 
of  the  stream  was  accounted  for  by  the  breaking  of 
a  dam,  some  said  by  the  enemy,  others  by  cannon 
shot. 

We  bivouacked  long  after  midnight  in  a  corn  field. 
On  the  1 8th  we  marched  all  day  with  only  a  halt 
long  enough  to  cook  our  coffee.  Forest  on  fire  as 
before.  "At  night,  being  unable  to  sleep,  I  took  a 
stroll  through  the  silent  camp.  It  was  midnight, 
and  the  fires  were  burning  low,  but  still  bright 
enough  to  throw  a  faint  light  over  the  whole  camp 
and  its  sleeping  soldiers.  The  long  line  of  guns 
stacked  were  plainly  to  be  seen.  Around  and  under 
their  guns  were  the  forms  of  the  battery  boys,  sleep- 
ing quietly  as  kittens ;  their  horses  closely  guarded 
and  carefully  cared  for,  were  near  by.  In  the  dis- 
tance could  be  seen  the  gleam  of  moving  bayonets 
as  sentries  paced  their  beats.  Here  was  a  soldier, 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  155 

unable  to  sleep,  having  a  solitary  smoke ;  another  

making  a  cup  of  coffee.  In  another  place  two  were 
smoking,  talking  over  in  a  low  tone  the  incidents  of 
the  march.  'Hallo,'  said  one,  'what  regiment?' 
'Twenty-fifth  Massachusetts,'  I  replied.  'Have  a  sit-  midnight. 
down,  Sergeant,'  and  he  pulled  his  blanket  along 
for  a  seat.  S.oon  we  were  gossiping  away  as  cosy 
as  could  be,  talking  over  the  events  of  the  expedi- 
tion, and  anticipating  the  morrow.  'I  say,  Bill,  haul 
out  those  potatoes, — done  ain't  they?'  'Guess  so/ 
and  with  his  bayonet  he  poked  half  a  dozen  sweet 
potatoes  out  of  the  hot  embers.  Salt  was  pro- 
duced, and  with  a  cup  of  piping  hot  coffee  and  the 
omnipresent  hard-tack,  we  had  a  good  soldiers' 
supper,  eaten  with  soldiers'  appetite.  A  half-hour 
spent  thus,  and  extending  them  an  invitation  to 
return  the  visit,  I  bade  them  good  night,  and  made 
my  way  back.  It  was  a  calm,  still  night,  and  above 
the  quiet  stars  looked  down  upon  this  bivouac  of 
twenty  thousand  men.  It  was  a  scene  never  to  be 
forgotten." 

One  night  we  bivouacked  near  Wise's  Forks, 
filed  into  a  field  on  the  left  of  the  road,  stacked 
arms,  and  went  for  rails  for  our  fires.  It  was  a  hard 
effort  to  get  them,  but  we  succeeded  at  last,  and  a 


156  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

cheery  rail   fire  covered  with  tin  cups  full  of  coffee 


was  a  pleasant  sight  for  cold  and  tired  soldiers. 
While  gathering  leaves  and  hunting  for  rails  a  com- 
rade discovered  a  dead  Johnny  partly  covered  with 
leaves.  Soon  others  were  found,  and  Comrade 
Rebels  Bayers — I  think  it  was — reported  finding  "some 
Johnnies  out  in  the  woods  all  dead."  .  "What  are 
you  fretting  about  then  ?  All  dead  you  say?" 
"Yes."  "Then  they  won't  trouble  us  before  morning, 
will  they?"  They  did  though,  for  a  detail  was  made 
to  bury  them,  and  the  order  had  to  be  obeyed. 
Thirteen  dead  Confederates  were  found  at  this  place ; 
the  Third  New  York  Cavalry  had  been  through  here, 
and  this  was  the  result  in  part. 

This  march  back  to  New  Berne,  which  we  reached 
Sunday  the  2ist,  was  severe.      The  weather  was 

Severe 

weather,  very  cold,  and  one  night  the  water  froze  in  the  can- 
teens under  our  heads,  as  we  laid  with  our  feet  to 
the  rail  fire.  We  were  absent  from  New  Berne 
thirteen  days,  and  the  Union  loss  in  killed,  wounded 
and  missing  was  five  hundred  and  seventy-five  men. 
"On  the  return  from  Goldsboro'  rations  of  whiskey 
were  served  out  to  the  men.  Corporal  Elwell  had 
on  this  occasion  taken  a  large  ration,  and  was  making 
considerable  noise,  strutting  about  and  calling  him- 


2$th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  157 

self  Provost  Marshal  of  Plymouth.     This  was  a  hit 


at  Captain  Parkhurst,  who  was  Provost  Marshal  of 
Plymouth  while  we  were  there.  It  made  some  dis- 
turbance. Colonel  Pickett,  who  was  on  horseback, 
rode  up  and  seeing  the  state  of  things,  could  hardly 
keep  down  a  laugh ;  but  calling  Lieutenant  Bessey, 
said  :  'Take  the  Corporal  away,  or  I  shall  have  to  see 
him.'  Pickett  possessed  that  happy  faculty  of  not 
seeing  too  much." 

The  new  year  of  1863  found  us  at  New  Berne  in 
old  Camp  Oliver,  and  for  some  weeks  we  had  a  quiet  New  Year 
time  of  it.     February  8th,  one  hundred  guns  were 
fired  from  Fort  Totten,  it  being  the  anniversary  of 
the  taking  of  Roanoke  Island. 

The  weather  was  very  changeable  ;  warm  days 
and  cold,  often  freezing,  nights.  This  caused  much 
sickness.  It  is  but  justice  to  say  that  the  Twenty- 
fifth  was  the  crack  regiment  of  the  Department,  and 
great  crowds  came  every  day  to  witness  the  dress 
parade. 

"One  Sunday,  after  inspection,  all  the  sergeants 
being  in  their  tent,  Sergeant  McLane  said  he  was 
going  to  get  a  pass  to  go  down  town.  'What  for, 
Jemsy  ?  Nothing  going  on  in  town  to-day,'  said  Burr. 
'Well,  fellers,  we  have  been  out  here  a  year  and  a 


158  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

half,  and  I  have  not  been  to  church  ;  I  feel  as  though 

I  ought  to  go.'  'Good,  Jemsy,  that's  just  the  way 
I  feel,'  said  Sergeant  Putnam.  Jemsy  got  his  pass 
and  departed.  The  day  went  by  as  Sundays  always 
did ;  the  boys  amused  themselves  with  reading, 
writing,  slicking  up,  etc.,  and  profound  quiet  reigned 
in  Camp  Oliver.  After  dress  parade,  when  all  the 
sergeants  were  in  their  tent,  Jemsy  returned,  his 
appearance,  to  say  the  least,  not  indicating  that  he 
had  been  to  church.  'Well,  Jemsy,  had  a  good  time?' 

Forgotten 

prayers.  'Y-o-u  b-e-t  I  have.'  'Go  to  church?'  asked  Burr. 
'Y-e-s,  I  did,  and  would  you  believe  it,  I  got  down 
on  my  knees  and  I'll  be  G — d  d — d  to  h — 1  if  I  could 
think  of  a  single  prayer ! ' ' 


h  >  /    f    T/iW^u  j-^J^ 


D  E  PT. 

of 

N  ORTH  CAROL  I  NA, 


Co  Bosttyx 


CHAPTER    IX. 

EXPEDITIONS  (Continued). 

ON  THE  4th  of  March  Companies  A  and  C  went  

on  picket  on  the  Trent  road  near  Deep  Gully, 
joining  the  companies  already  there  under  Captain  Cam. 
Denny.  The  camp  was  known  as  Camp  Pickett. 
On  the  6th  we  heard  the  order  while  on  duty,  "Fall 
in  A,  fall  in.  The  Twenty-fifth  comes."  Soon  the 
Regiment  made  its  appearance,  and  we  took  our 
place  in  line,  and  started  off  on  another  expedition. 
After  a  march  of  a  dozen  miles  towards  Kinston, 
passing  the  blockade  again,  we  bivouacked  in  a 
beautiful  spot  completely  shut  in  by  pine  woods 
and  perfectly  concealed.  This  was  near  the  forks 
of  the  Trenton  and  Kinston  roads.  Companies  A,  G 
and  K  were  ordered  to  be  in  readiness  at  midnight 
to  go  on  a  scout,  the  object  being  to  "gobble  up" 
a  body  of  Rebel  infantry  on  picket  five  or  six  miles 


21 


1 60  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

from  our  bivouac,  and  to  destroy  their  camp.     At 
1863. 

the  appointed  time  we  left  our  camp  with  a  company 

of  the  Third  New  York  Cavalry  in  advance.  The 
night  was  very  dark  at  the  start,  but  we  pushed  on 
Midnight  through  woods,  swamps  and  mud  towards  Kinston 
for  three  or  four  miles,  then  advancing  with  more 
caution  as  we  drew  near  the  picket  post  of  the 
enemy.  Suddenly,  crack  went  a  rifle  in  advance, 
the  cavalry  made  a  dash  and  the  infantry  followed 
at  double-quick.  This  was  all  very  exciting.  But 
that  rifle  shot  would  alarm  the  next  post,  and  we 
must  move  on.  Soon  there  was  another  shot  and 
another  dash  of  the  cavalry,  in  which  they  succeeded 
in  capturing  one  of  the  Rebel  pickets ;  and  on  we 
went.  A  horseman  was  now  heard  approaching ; 
the  cavalry  dismounted  and  quietly  awaited  his  ad- 
vance. They  challenged  and  grappled  with  him  ; 
the  struggle  was  fierce  but  short.  No  shots  fired 
this  time.  The  horseman  is  captured  and  sent  to 
the  rear  under  guard. 

As  we  still  pressed  on  those  ahead  received  the 
fire  of  some  half-dozen  rifles — probably  a  reserve 
guard,  or  the  main  picket  camp.  The  cavalry  had 
two  wounded  this  time ;  we  had  none.  An  open 
field  was  on  our  left,  woods  on  our  right,  and  open 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  161 

fields  beyond.     Ahead — perhaps  a  quarter  of  a  mile   

1863. 
— was  a  dark  line  of  woods,  in  which  was  supposed 

to  be  the  enemy's  camp.  Skirmishers — Company 
G,  Lieutenant  Daly — were  thrown  out  on  the  right ; 
on  the  left  a  portion  of  Company  A,  Sergeant  Put- 
nam, while  the  rest  of  Company  A  under  Lieutenant 
Bessey,  and  Company  K,  Lieutenant  Forbes,  held 
the  center  in  the  road.  The  skirmishers  of  Com- 
pany A  took  their  place  in  line  in  the  field  as  quickly 
as  if  it  had  been  broad  daylight,  and  we  went  for- 
ward. A  wide,  deep  ditch  was  encountered,  but 
with  a  sort  of  flying  jump  the  boys  managed  to  cross,  Attack  on 
and  we  advanced  again.  Soon  the  moon  came  out  cam*>' 
from  behind  the  clouds  and  we  could  view  the  whole 
country  in  our  vicinity.  A  volley  was  fired  on  our 
right — Company  G  was  catching  it.  We  came  to  a 
barn,  and  geese  hissed  at  us  as  we  passed,  but  not 
a  gun  was  fired.  It  was  comical  withal,  the  hissing 
of  those  geese,  and  a  low  laugh  ran  down  the  skir- 
mish line.  We  approached  the  woods  and  still  not 
a  shot  was  fired.  A  light  was  seen  through  the 
trees,  and  the  forms  of  tents  dimly  appeared.  We 
had  struck  the  Rebel  camp.  We  entered  the  woods, 
the  left  of  the  skirmish  line  swung  around  to  the 
right,  and  we  had  the  camp — a  dozen  tents — sur- 
rounded. 


1 62  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

Meantime  the  troops,  with  the  cavalry  in  advance, 
1863. 

had  charged  down  the  road,  received  a  volley  from 

the  Rebels,  and  then  driven  them.    Corporal  Jimmy 
Green  ("Spud"  we  called  him)  was  sent  to  Captain 

The  camp  Denny,  who  was  in  command,  to  report  that  we  had 
captured  the  camp,  and  he  ordered  it  burned.  But 
first  we  went  through  it.  We  found  boxes  unopened, 
-  evidently  just  received ;  we  opened  them  with  our 
bayonets  and  found  them  filled  with  good  things 
from  home — apples,  cake,  eggs,  etc.  We,  of  course, 
ate  the  solids,  and — certainly,  why  not? — drank  the 
fluids,  and  then  proceeded  to  obey  orders.  We 
stirred  up  the  fire,  piled  on  everything  that  would 
burn,  and  soon  all  was  in  a  blaze. 

Corporal  Bugbee  heard  chickens  cackle.      "Kill 

D    ,  ,   'em,  boys,"  he  shouted,  "Damn  'em,  we  can  eat  'em  ! 

Bugbee  s  * 

chickens.  Wring  their  necks ! "  Very  soon  there  was  no  more 
cackling  of  chickens.  But  they  proved  rather  ex- 
pensive to  the  Corporal,  for  in  his  haste  to  catch 
them  he  kicked  aside  a  little  roll  of  paper  which  was 
picked  up  by  Comrade  White,  who  found  he  had 
sixty  dollars  in  Confederate  bills.  These,  of  course, 
were  not  passable  within  our  lines,  but  White  ex- 
changed them  with  North  Carolina  people  for  their 
money,  which  was  current  in  New  Berne,  and  this 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  163 


he  loaned  about  to  the  boys,  and  they,  on  next  pay 
day,  returned  it  to  him  in  greenbacks  !  Bugbee  got 
the  chickens  but  lost  the  money. 

After  the  camp  had  been  destroyed  we  made  a 
hasty  march  back  to  our  bivouac  in  the  woods, 
reaching  there  about  six  o'clock  on  the  -morning  of 
the  yth,  having  marched  about  a  dozen  miles  since 
leaving  our  camp  at  midnight.  We  remained  here 
until  the  next  day  and  then  returned  to  Camp 
Pickett. 

Our  boys  brought  away  some  things  from  the 
Rebel  camp, — rifles,  knapsacks,  and  several  "Yan-  "Yankee 
kee  Slayers"* — but  nothing  of  value.  Some  letters 
found  in  the  knapsacks  which  our  boys  went  through, 
.showed  a  pitiful  state  of  things  in  the  South  at  that 
early  stage  of  the  war.  The  following  are  extracts 
from  a  letter  which  was  taken  from  a  knapsack  in 
this  camp,  and  is  now  in  the  possession  of  the 
writer.  It  was  written  by  a  mother  to  her  sons  in 
the  Confederate  army. 

*  These  "Yankee  Slayers"  were  huge,  rough  blades,  one  and  a  half  feet 
long,  and  quite  heavy.  They  were  hammered  out  by  hand,  had  rude  scab- 
bards, and  were  intended  to  be  hung  on  the  waist-belt.  One  of  these,  taken 
from  the  Rebel  camp,  is  now  in  the  museum  of  The  Worcester  Society  of 
Antiquity.  It  is,  perhaps,  unnecessary  to  say  that  these  terrible-looking 
weapons  were  perfectly  harmless.  I  never  knew  of  one  of  them  being  used, 
nor  did  I  ever  hear  of  any  person  who  was  injured  by  one. 


1 64  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

febaray  the  2d  1863 

1     3'  Deer  Sons     i  seet  myselfe  to  Drope  you  uns  a  few  lins 

to  let  you  no  that  i  reseved  your  kind  and  Welkim  leter  to  nite 
and  i  war  Mour  then  gladde  to  her  from  you  both  these  few  lins 
leves  us  all  well  at  this  time  .  .  .  i  war  glade  to  her  from  you 
uns  and  sorry  to  her  that  you  War  on  picket  and  had  nothing  to 
eat  i  want  to  no  Whether  you  got  What  litel  i  sent  .  .  if  you 

Southern 

,  „  stay  thar  and  if  you  Dont  get  kill  ner  takin  prisner  i  will  try  and 
git  some  boddy  to  fetch  you  somthing  to  eat  time  is  hard  her 
.  i  have  bin  tring  to  git  Wheat  and  corn  ever  sins  and  i 
cant  gite  a  bite  at  no  prise  corn  is  Worth  from  2  to  3  Dolers  and 
cant  git  hit  at  that  they  War  a  Man  at  town  the  outher  Day  and 
he  oferd  A  hunderd  Dolers  A  barle  and  cold  not  git  hit  at  that 
Meet  they  is  ofern  A  Doler  and  fifty  cents  A  pond  and  i  Dont  no 
What  the  pepel  Will  Dow  her  let  lone  the  pour  Solger  and  hit  is 
harde  on  both  sids  .  .  . 

fer  What  i  can  under  stand  you  boys  is  giting  [illegible]  Wicked 
takin  up  the  pour  yankes  and  taken  tha  clothing  of  and  pull  ther 
eys  opin  an  ther  Moth  and  standin  them  up  and  cusen  them  and 
i  Want  to  no  Whether  hit  is  so  or  not  i  Dont  no  Whether  hit  is 
so  [or]  not  i  hope  hit  aint  so  and  i  never  Want  to  her  of  the 
like  beeing  Don  in  ther  compny  A  gane  When  i  hirde  hite  hit 
Made  the  hare  rise  one  My  hed  how  Wod  i  fel  to  her  of  your  A 
beeing  kill  and  the  yankeys  servin  you  so  ... 

the  young  girls  is  Wating  fer  you  solgers  to  come  they  say  to 
the  olde  Men  When  they  come  A  bout  them  goe  Way  you  is  no 
solges  goe  to  the  War  .  .  . 

This  expedition  was  a  bold  thing  to  undertake, 
and  was  well  planned  and  well  carried  out.  It  was 
only  partially  successful,  however,  for  the  purpose 
was  to  capture  the  entire  detachment,  whereas  we 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  165 

secured  only  half  a  dozen  prisoners  ;  but  we  broke 


up  the  post  and  destroyed  the  camp. 

The  troops  left  for  New  Berne,  Company  A  re- 
maining at  Camp  Pickett.  On  the  i3th  of  March 
the  enemy  made  a  bold  attempt  to  capture  New 
Berne.  They  approached  the  town  from  every 
available  point,  driving  in  our  pickets  at  Deep  Gully, 
and  four  companies,  A,  C,  G  and  K,  were  ordered 
there.  This  Deep  Gully  was  a  ravine  extending 
from  the  Trent  river  some  miles  towards  the  Neuse, 
and  having  a  deep  stream  of  water  running  through 
it,  not  easily  crossed  except  at  one  place  where  was  Attack  at 
a  bridge  and  one  or  two  fords.  At  the  Gully  was 
an  earth-work  which  protected  the  bridge,  and  one 
old  Quaker  gun  made  it  look  quite  formidable.  As 
the  enemy  approached  near,  Company  A  under 
Lieutenant  Bessey ;  Company  C,  Lieutenant  Davis  ; 
and  Company  G,  Captain  Wagely,  formed  in  the 
rear  of  the  earthwork,  Company  A  at  the  left.  Soon 
the  enemy  opened  on  us  with  grape  shot,  which 
passed  harmlessly  over  our  heads  as  we  lay  on  the 
ground  and  crashed  into  the  woods  at  our  rear. 
Sergeant  Wesson  ("Old  Rats"  the  boys  called  him) 
seeing  a  large  stump  directly  in  his  Jront,  ten  or 
twelve  feet  distant,  crawled  to  it,  and  feeling  quite 


1  66  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

secure  behind   it,   looked  back  to  us,  and  with  a 
1863. 

motion  of  his  fingers  to  his  nose  said,   "Don't  you 

wish  you  were  here?"  In  less  than  a  minute  a 
solid  shot  struck  the  stump,  which  proved  to  be 
rotten,  and  the  pieces  flew  in  every  direction.  Wes- 
son was  not  injured,  and  a  hearty  laugh  greeted 
him  as  he  wriggled  back  to  his  place  in  line. 

The  place  got  too  warm  for  us,  and  we  were  or- 
dered to  fall  back,  which  we  did  without  harm.  The 
cavalry  had  one  man  killed.  We  formed  in  line  of 
battle  with  the  cavalry  on  our  left,  and  waited  for 
an  attack  ;  hours  passed  with  little  firing  and  no 
harm  done.  At  the  first  appearance  of  the  enemy 
a  messenger  had  been  sent  to  New  Berne  for  help, 

A  id  from 

New    and  about  6  P.  M.,  the  balance  of  the  old  Twenty  - 


with  the  Fifth  and  Forty-sixth  Massachusetts 
regiments,  and  part  of  Belger's  Battery,  reached  us. 
Our  regiment  was  the  first  to  arrive,  and  we  were 
glad  to  see  our  comrades,  and  now  felt  as  if  we 
could  drive  the  enemy,  although  it  was  reported 
that  they  had  over  a  dozen  pieces  of  artillery,  some 
cavalry,  and  eight  or  ten  regiments. 

The  enemy  were  delayed  in  crossing  at  the  Gully 
a  little  while,  as  our  people  had  destroyed  the  bridge. 
Trees  had  also  been  felled  across  the  road  which 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  167 

added  to  the  delay,  but  after  a  time  they  got  into   

position,  and  there  was  considerable  firing  until 
dark.  That  night  was  freezing  cold,  and  as  no 
fires  were  allowed  we  were  in  a  wretched  plight. 
It  did  seem  as  though  the  cold  would  penetrate  to 
our  very  bones. 

The  next  day,  the  i4th,  we  were  relieved  by  the 
Forty-third  Massachusetts,  and  we  returned  to 
Camp  Oliver,  passing  on  the  way  our  picket  camp, 
and  taking  our  knapsacks  with  us. 

It  seems  that  the  attack  on   New   Berne  was  a 
failure  in  every  quarter.    The  gunboats  took  a  hand 
in  it  on  the  Neuse  river,  and  altogether  there  was     The 
quite  a  lively  time.     The  Rebs  at  the  Gully  were 

*  J  a  failure 

under  command  of  General  B.  B.  Hill,  while  Petti- 
grew  commanded  across  the  Neuse  river,  opposite 
New  Berne.* 

There  were  probably  at  this  time  in   New  Berne, 
twenty-five  thousand  men,  and  an   imposing  sight    Grand 
was  the  grand  review  by  General  Foster.     It  was,  I  review. 
think,  the  largest  body  of  soldiers  we  ever  had  in 
North  Carolina. 

As  one  hundred  guns  were  fired  on  February  8th 

*  For  a  full  description  of  this  attack  on  New  Berne,  see  Denny's  Wearing 
the  BlUe. 


1 68  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

in  honor  of  the  Battle  of  Roanoke,   so  we  were  to 


have  a  holiday  on  March  i4th,  in  honor  of  the  cap- 
ture of  New  Berne  ;  but  to  accomodate  the  Rebels 
in  their  desire  to  attack  the  place  on  that  day,  our 
celebration  was  put  off  until  the  lyth.  On  the 
morning  of  that  day  crowds  gathered  on  the  parade 
ground  to  witness  the  sports.  General  Foster  and 
staff,  also  General  Palmer,  were  present,  and  ap- 
peared to  enjoy  the  fun  as  sensible  men  should.  A 
boxing  match  between  Captain  Tom  O'Neil  and  his 
brother  Jim,  was  one  of  the  exercises  of  the  day. 
Sack  races  followed,  in  which  Company  A  was  repre- 
sented  by  Comrade  Sawyer,  who  carried  away  the 
prize.  Climbing  the  greased  pole  caused  a  deal  of 
merriment.  Half  a  dozen  men  blindfolded,  wheel- 
ing wheelbarrows  at  a  mark,  were  a  comical  feature 
in  the  programme,  and  chasing  greased  pigs  made 
much  commotion  all  over  the  camp,  while  other 
sports  occupied  the  time  until  the  middle  of  the 
afternoon,  when  the  affair  broke  up,  and  the  crowds 
dispersed. 

Two  days  after,  on  the  iQth,  tents  were  struck, 
and  the  Regiment  was  on  its  way  to  Plymouth  on 
board  the  steamer  Escort.  As  there  was  not  room 
for  the  whole  regiment  on  the  vessel  Companies  A, 


2$th  Rcgt.,  Mass.  Vols.  169 

E  and  H  marched  to  the  barracks  used  by  the  Forty-   

fourth,  and  remained  until  the  23d,  when  the  same 
steamer  took  the  three  companies  and  landed  them 
at  Plymouth  on  the  25th.  One  night,  during  our 
stay  at  the  barracks,  we  thought  it  would  be — as 
Comrade  Bolster  expressed  it — conducive,  if  we  could 
have  a  dance.  Leave  was  obtained  to  remain  up 
after  taps,  two  fiddles  were  found  in  a  neighboring 
regiment,  candles  procured  and  the  old  barracks  Our 
lighted  up,  and  at  it  the  boys  went.  But  to  dance 
without  ladies  was  a  difficulty  not  reckoned  on,  and 
it  was,  I  think,  the  genius  of  Private  Bolster  that 
overcame  it.  "Take  your  caps,  fellers  ;  visors  to 
the  front,  men  ;  visors  to  the  rear,  women."  Tis 
done,  and  funny  enough,  all  visors  are  to  the  rear! 
All  want  to  be  women.  This  was  soon  arranged 
and  the  fun  began.  Mr.  (Capt.)  Thomas  O'Neil 
and  Miss  (Lieut.)  Daly  were  the  stars  of  the  eve- 
ning, keeping  the  crowd  in  a  roar  of  laughter.  For 
two  hours  the  frolic  went  on,  when  orders  came 
"Lights  out,"  and  the  day  ended.  This  is  a  trifling 
incident  to  note,  but  there  are  many  such  trifling 
incidents  in  the  every-day  life  of  the  soldier.  Even 
in  war  time,  soldiers  are  not  always  fighting,  nor 
always  on  the  march  ;  but  soldiers  are  always  busy, 


1 70  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

and  if  duty  does  not  call  them,  fun  comes  to  the 


863'   front. 

A  transport  ship  with  six  or  eight  hundred  men 

on  board  is  not  the  most  comfortable  place  in  the 

Shipdis-  world,  one  great  trouble  being  the  lack,  of  facilities 

comforts.  fQf  cookjng  for  tne  multitude.      Any  soldier   will 

appreciate  the  situation.    The  ordinary  ship  cooking 

apparatus  is  at  best  limited  in  its  capacity,  and  of  no 

great  account  with  such  a  crowd.    Now  the  steamer 

Escort  was  provided  with  huge  boilers    in    which 

could  be  cooked  a  barrel  of  beef  and  a  barrel  of 

coffee  at  the  same  time  ;  this  to  us  was  a  g-odsend 

o 

and  of  the  greatest  benefit  to  the  soldiers. 

Since  our  last  visit  to  Plymouth  the  town  had 
changed  for  the  worse.  It  had  been  occupied  by 
Effects  both  Union  and  Confederate  troops,  and  a  few  weeks 
before  was  set  on  fire  by  the  enemy,  and  the  business 
portion  in  the  center  of  the  town  entirely  destroyed.  • 
Several  large  private  houses,  with  elm  trees  in  front, 
from  whose  branches  hung  in  long  festoons  the  "Ivy 
green,"  were  also  consumed.  But  this  is  war.  Our 
camp  was  pitched  in  the  burnt  district,  and  in  honor 
of  the  commander  of  the  gunboat  Commodore  Perry, 
was  named  Camp  Flusser,  Colonel  Pickett  taking 
command  of  the  post,  and  Lieutenant  -  Colonel 
Moulton,  of  the  Twenty-fifth  Regiment. 


2 $th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  171 

On  our  arrival  at  Plymouth  Companies  A,  G  and 


O£ 

K  were  highly  complimented  for  their  conduct  at 
the  Gully  on  the  i3th,  and  they  deserved  it.      The  piymouth 
troops  went  to  work  at  once  on   the  fortifications    asain- 
just  laid  out  for  the  defence  of  the  town.      A  heavy  Fortifi- 
detail  was  made  from  each  company  to  work  on  the 
fort,  besides  the  regular  camp  and  picket  duty ;  and 
the  pioneers  went  out  daily  to  clear  away  the  forest 
and  get  a  good  range  for  the  guns.      The  pioneers 
often  cut  down  trees  four  feet  through,  straight  as 
arrows,  and  more  than  one  hundred  feet  high. 

Refugees  kept  coming  down  the  river,  some  from 
a  distance  of  fifty  miles,  in  their  dugouts.     Some  of 

Refugees. 

these  boats  were  quite  large  ;  one,  1  remember,  con- 
tained three  men,  three  women  and  six  children, 
with  all  their  household  effects.  Most  of  these 
people  were  going  to  New  Berne,  having  been 
driven  from  their  homes  on  account  of  their  Union 
sentiments. 

As  early  as  the  middle  of  February  we  had  found     Wiid 
wild  flowers  in  bloom  in  New  Berne — violets,  myrtle,  fl°wers- 
trailing  arbutus  and  others  ;  and  here,  at   Plymouth, 
they  were  very  abundant. 

We  had  now  been  over  five  months  without  pay, 
and  there  was  considerable  growling;  but  unless  to 


172  TJie  Story  of  Company  A. 

send  it  home,  which  many  of  us  did,  it  was  not  of 


much  account,  really,  for  a  soldier  actually  needs 
little  money  for  himself;  still  it  was  "convenient  to 
have  in  the  house,"  and  we  were  paid  shortly  after, 
which  made  the  boys  happy  for  a  while. 

Our  Camp  Flusser  was  neatly  laid  out,  and  the 
Camp    company  tents  were  very  comfortable.      From  the 
™r'  burnt  district  we  got  boards  for  floors,   raised  our 
Sibley  tents  about  three  feet,  putting  a  sort  of  cur- 
tain of  canvas  around  at  the  bottom  ;  this  made  the 
tents  more  roomy  and  very  pleasant.     But  this  was 
not  all.     We  stole,  or  rather,  found,  doors,  which 
with  a  little  rough  carpenter  work  we  put  in  place 
in  our  tents.  These  doors  had  knobs,  and  the  whole 
thing  worked  admirably.     We  did  not  get  any  door- 
NO  door-  belis  for  our  tents,  as  it  was  thought  we  could  get 

bells. 

along  without  them  ;  but  think  of  it — soldiers  with- 
out door-bells  to  their  tents  ! 

We  picked  up  while  at  Plymouth,  as  soldiers  will, 
Pets,  many  pets — a  curious  lot — squirrels,  owls,  raccoons, 
birds,  and  little  darkies,  the  latter  quite  useful  in 
blacking  shoes  and  such  odd  jobs.  The  habit  of 
dipping  snuff  in  the  South  has  been  spoken  of. 
One  day  a  little  white  girl  passed  by  the  camp,  and 
a  soldier,  observing  a  stick  protruding  from  her 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  173 

mouth,  asked,  "What  have  you  in  your  mouth  little   

1863. 
girl?"     "My  snuff  stick,"  was  the  reply.      "What,      A 

do  you  chew  tobacco  P'^     "Oh,  no;  I  dont  chew,  I  youthful 

T      "        .   TT  11  ->»        ..T>  "  ^.U      "dipper." 

dip.       "How  old  are  you  r          1  m  seven,    was  the 
reply.     What  a  sight  was  that. 

An  effort  was  made  while  at  Plymouth  to  get  up 
another  dance,  and  in  looking  about  for  a  place  a 
little  brick  church  was  selected.  In  the  first  place 
it  was  quite  central,  and  then  it  was  large  enough  ; 
so  the  church  door  was  opened — whether  with  or 
without  a  key  I  do  not  remember — space  was  cleared 
of  seats  on  the  floor,  candles  obtained,  fiddlers  found, 
and  all  promised  well.  Meantime  a  little  incident 
was  transpiring  not  calculated  on  by  the  getters-up 
of  the  scheme.  A  squad  of  soldiers  had  discovered 
at  no  great  distance  from  our  camp,  a  small  house, 
in  which  was  found  that  cheerful-looking  carriage, 
the  village  hearse.  This  was  run  out  of  the  build-  with  the 
ing ;  it  had  a  covered  top  and  open  sides,  and  a 
singular  idea  popped  into  the  head  of  one  of  our 
boys.  "I  say  fellers,  suppose  we  run  this  team 
around  town  and  pick  up  the  boys  and  take  them 
to  the  dance."  There  were  no  horses,  so  two  or 
three  soldiers  got  hold  of  each  thill,  and  "she  is  all 
right,"  One  mounts  to  the  driver's  seat,  and  one 


1 74  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

crawls  inside,  smoking  his  pipe,  saying,  "I'll  be  the 

first  passenger."  It  was  comical  enough — a  soldier 
stretched  at  full  length,  and  smoke  rolling  out  in 
puffs  from  the  inside  of  that  dismal-looking  vehicle, 
all  ready  for  a  start.  But  suddenly  a  soldier  puts 
in  an  appearance  with  "Look  out  boys,  Colonel 
Pickett  has  ordered  the  arrest  of  every  man  en- 
gaged in  this  church  dance  business.  Take  care 
of  yourselves"  ;  and  he  took  care  of  himself  by  dis- 
appearing around  the  corner.  What  a  change  was 
there.  The  driver  got  down  from  his  seat,  and  the 
passenger  slid  out,  making,  as  one  expressed  it, 
quicker  time  than  was  usual  with  passengers  in  that 
after  carriage>  ^e  hearse  was  taken  back  into  the  house, 

the  boys,  doors  shut  with  a  hurried  slam,  and  the  boys  dis- 
appeared to  take  care  of  themselves.  It  proved  as 
was  said,  that  Pickett  had  ordered  the  arrest  of  all 
concerned.  The  lights  were  put  out  and  the  church 
closed ;  quite  a  number  of  the  men  were  arrested, 
and — Plymouth  was  saved.  The  upshot  of  the 
matter  was  a  severe  reprimand  to  those  in  custody 
— and  that  was  enough.  The  affair  made  some 
talk  for  a  day  or  two,  and  Comrade  Bolster  pro- 
posed that,  as  there  had  been  so  much  fuss  about 
it,  we  should  pick  up  the  little  d — d  church,  and 


25th  Reg t.,  Mass.  Vols.  175 

send  it  home  as  a  momentum  of  the  occasion.    This   

expression  brought  down  the  house — Bolster  gen- 
erally did.  when  he  spoke. 

We  found  in  Plymouth  hand  cards  made  at  Leices- 
ter, Massachusetts,  by  Whittemore  ;  and  it  is  a  little 
singular  that  they  were  found  by  Leicester  boys. 

While  we  were  at  Plymouth,  Washington,  North 
Carolina,  was  surrounded  by  the  Rebels,  who  laid 
siege  to  the  place  with  twelve  thousand  men.  Gen- 
eral Foster  was  there  with  only  twelve  hundred  men,  Slege  °f 

Wash- 

but  he  held  the  place.  A  steamer  with  ammunition  ington. 
and  a  few  troops  run  the  blockade,  and  relieved  the 
hard-worked  garrison  ;  and  General  Foster  run  the 
gauntlet  one  night  on  the  steamer  Escort,  with  the 
loss  of  one  or  two  men,  and  reached  New  Berne  in 
safety,  intending  to  return  at  once  and  relieve  the 
place.  This  was  not  necessary,  however,  for  the 
enemy  had  got  enough  of  it,  and  one  night  raised 
the  siege  and  vanished,  leaving  Washington  and 
the  Tar  river  free.  This  defence  of  Washington, 
though  little  talked  about  and  little  known,  was 
a  brilliant  affair,  and  reflected  great  credit  upon 
General  Foster,  and  spoke  well  for  the  pluck  and 
endurance  of  the  men  under  his  command. 


1 76  rfke  Story  of  Company  A. 

On  the  3d  of  May  we  were  relieved  by  Wessel's 
1863. 

Brigade,  and  at  seven  p.  M.,  left  Plymouth  on  the 

steamer  Thomas  Collyer,  Commander  Flusser  and 
his  sailors  giving  us  a  display  of  fireworks  with 
hearty  cheers  as  we  left  the  old  town.  We  reached 
New  Berne  on  the  afternoon  of  the  4th,  after  a  de- 
lightful sail ;  and  on  the  5th  of  May  had  our  tents 
pitched  once  more  in  old  Camp  Oliver. 

As  at  Roanoke  Island  the  boys  had  the  fever  for 
making  briar  wood  pipes,  so  at  New  Berne  the  rage 
for  bone-work  prevailed  to  an  alarming  extent  during 
the  remainder  of  our  stay  at  Camp  Oliver.  Comrade 

Bone 

carving.  Henry  Goulding  was  the  most  expert  at  this  busi- 
ness, and  turned  out  some  really  very  fine  work  in 
the  shape  of  rings,  crosses,  scarf-pins,  etc.,  all  beauti- 
fully carved.  This  fever  for  bone  cutting  pervaded 
the  whole  Regiment,  and  it  served  to  while  away 
many  an  hour  of  dull  camp  life. 

We  had  now  been  in  the  service  of  Uncle  Sam 
,  over  a  year  and  a  half,  and  in  accordance  with  orders 

Furloughs  J 

received,  we  were  having  furloughs  of  thirty  days 
granted  us,  a  certain  number  from  each  company  of 
the  Regiment  going,  and  on  their  return  another 
lot  departing,  and  so  on.  This  was  very  pleasant, 
and  was  encouraging  to  the  soldiers.  Every  man 


2 5th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  177 

who  returned  from  furlough  would  be  surrounded   

by  a  crowd  of  soldiers  eager  to  catch  every  word  he 
uttered  as  he  told  the  story  of  what  he  had  seen  at 
home. 

At  midnight  of  May  2ist  we  were  on  the  march  Another 
again,  this  time  in  the  direction  of  Bachellor's  Creek.  march- 
We  had  been  on  the  road  about  two  hours,  and  the 
men  were  plodding  along  tired  and  sleepy,  when  an 
unusual  noise  was  heard  at  the  head  of  the  column, 
and  the  men  of  the  companies  before  us  dropped 
out  to  the  right  and  left  of  the  road  as  though  a 
squad  of  cavalry  was  charging  down  the  line.  Com- 
pany A  did  the  same  and  those  in  our  rear  followed 
suit ;  and  in  a  moment,  as  it  were,  the  road  was 
clear  of  soldiers  ;  scarcely  one  man  could  be  seen 
standing  in  it.  In  their  precipitation  the  men  fell 
helter-skelter  over  one  another,  and  as  they  picked 
themselves  up  and  got  back  to  their  places  in  the 
road  again,  the  question  was  asked  by  every  one:  what 
"What  was  that?"  and  the  answer,  "What  was  it  ?"  was it? 
Some  declared  they  saw  the  form  of  a  horse  pass 
like  a  flash  down  the  center  of  the  road ;  others 
thought  it  was  a  deer  that  had  got  frightened  and 
dashed  into  the  line  ;  and  others  saw  nothing,  but 
all  gpt  out  of  the  way.  The  question  "What  was 


178  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

it?"  has  never  been  satisfactorily  answered.      After 

the  march  was  resumed,  the  men  talked  the  affair 
over,  and  all  declared  they  would  not  get  out  of  the 
way  again  if  the  devil  himself  should  come. 

We  had  not  been  half  an  hour  on  the  road,  and  the 
men  were  getting  drowsy  again,  when  a  noise  simi- 
lar to  the  first  reached  our  ears  from  somewhere  in 
advance,  and  a  few  soldiers  were  dropping  out  of 

Another  the  road  again  from  the  companies  ahead,  and  about 
scare.  as  quickly  as  before.  But  Company  A  must  have 
the  credit  of  remaining  in  line  this  time.  "We 
brought  our  rifles  to  the  'Charge  bayonets'  and 
waited  for — nothing."  It  was  really  nothing  this 
time,  and  the  affair  created  a  great  deal  of  mirth  as 
we  proceeded  on  our  way. 

At  early  daylight  we  came  to  a  halt  near  the  rail- 
road leading  to  Goldsboro'.  In  the  middle  of  the 
afternoon  we  got  on  board  a  train  of  cars  and  moved 
some  five  or  six  miles  towards  Goldsboro',  and 
joining  the  Fifth  and  Twenty-seventh  Massachusetts 
Regiments,  marched  to  Core  Creek  and  bivouacked 
till  midnight.  The  march  was  then  resumed,  the 
Twenty-fifth  having  the  advance  after  crossing  Core 
Creek.  Company  K,  Captain  Denny,  was  thrown 
out  as  advance  guard,  and  we  moved  on  quickly 


2$th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols,  179 

but  quietly,  with  no  signs  of  an  enemy  until  about   

4  A.   M.,   when   the  advance  run  on  to  the  Rebel 
pickets  and  drove  them  in.      The   Regiment  now 
filed  into  a  field  on  the  right,  and  formed  in  line  of 
battle.      Companies  K   (Captain   Denny)     and    E 
(Captain  O'Neil)    were  sent  out  as  skirmishers,  and 
soon  discovered  a  long  line  of  earthworks,  and  both 
parties  commenced  firing.   This  continued  two  hours 

or  more,  when  we  heard  loud  cheering  and  volleys  ^nsagf- 

.  mentwith 

ot  musketry  in  the  enemy  s  rear,  and  we  knew  ourfAeenem 
boys,  under  Colonel  Jones,  of  the  Fifty-eighth  Penn- 
sylvania,   were    charging.       Company    A,    Captain 
Goodwin,  was  now  sent  to  join  the   skirmish  line, 
which  was  advancing  at  double-quick ;   the  line  of 
defence  was  soon  reached,  and  Company  A  swarmed    Co.  A 
over  the  earthworks  like  bees ;  and  being"  attacked  ^rst  in 

the  earth- 

both  in  front  and  in  the  rear,  the  Johnnies  were  at   works. 
a  disadvantage.     They  scattered  in  every  direction ; 
we  took  one  hundred  and  sixty-five  prisoners,  and 
proceeded  to  destroy  the  works  as  best  we  could. 
We  held  the  position,  which  was  a  strong  one,  until 

5  P.  M.,  when  the  object  of  the  expedition  being 
accomplished,    and    as    the    enemy,    having    been 
strongly  re-enforced,  were  coming  down   the  rail- 
road, we  commenced  a  retreat  to  Core  Creek. 


1 80  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

The  Twenty-fifth  Regiment,  with  a  company  of 
cavalry,  and  one  piece  of  artillery,  acted  as  rear 
guard,  the  enemy  following  close  on  our  heels,  shell- 
ing us  but  doing  no  harm.  We  reached  Core  Creek 

The 

retreat,  about  io  P.  M.,  and  bivouacked  for  the  night.  On 
the  23d  we  moved  early  in  the  direction  of  the  rail- 
road, intending  to  take  the  train  at  Bachellor's  Creek ; 
but  a  heavy  force  of  the  enemy  was  found  posted 
on  the  railroad  in  our  front,  at  the  point  where  the 
road  we  were  traveling  crossed  it,  and  we  were  fired 
upon  from  our  right,  and  in  our  rear  they  were  close 
upon  us.  We  were  getting  into  a  bad  place,  but 
our  artillery  with  some  trouble  dispersed  our  op- 
posers,  and  we  passed  on.  The  enemy  were,  no 
doubt,  trying  to  cut  us  off;  to  avoid  this  we  made 
quite  a  detour  through  what  is,  properly  speaking, 
Dover  Swamp,  but  was  then  called  "Gum  Swamp"; 
and  by  this  name  it  will  be  always  known  to  the 
members  of  the  Twenty-fifth  Regiment.  On  leaving 
the  road  we  plunged  at  once  into  this  swamp.  It 
'"  was  more  than  knee-deep  with  mud  and  water,  its 

Swamp. 

bushes  and  brambles  were  interlaced  with  vines, 
and  it  was  with  the  greatest  difficulty  that  we  could 
cut  our  way  along.  As  hour  after  hour  passed  it 
seemed  as  if  there  was  no  end  to  it.  Not  a  breath 


2$th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  181 

of  air  was  stirring-    and  the  sun   poured  down  an   

1863. 
intense  heat  upon  us.    The  boys  began  to  give  out. 

The  great  cry  was :  "Water,  water."  We  tried  to 
strain  the  swamp  water  through  our  handkerchiefs, 
but  it  was  horrible  and  we  could  not  drink  it.  Faint- 
ing, panting  for  breath,  struggling  along,  men 
dropped  down  where  they  stood,  and  it  seemed 
impossible  to  get  them  any  further.  And  yet,  there 
was  a  sort  of  grim  humor  through  it  all ;  the  old 
jokes  would  occasionally  come  to  the  surface  :  "Why  in  Gum 
did  we  go  for  sogers,"  said  one.  "Give  it  up,"  was  Swamt- 
the  reply.  "Because  we  were  foolish  cusses,"  said 
another.  But  no  song  enlivened  this  dreadful  march 
through  Gum  Swamp  ;  it  took  all  the  strength,  all 
the  pluck  the  men  possessed  to  stagger  along  and 
keep  their  failing  spirits  up.  Comrade  Forbes,  who 
had  been  detailed  for  hospital  service,  and  had  done 
little  or  no  duty  with  the  Company,  was  with  us  in 
the  swamp,  with  a  large  box  of  medicines,  etc.,  on 
his  back.  Doctor  Rice,  the  Regimental  Surgeon, 
was  also  here  ;  and,  of  course,  all  were  on  foot,  and 
one  man  was  as  good  as  another.  "I  say,  Forbes, 
you  don't  carry  a  rifle,  but  you  have  to  carry  the 
Doctor's  pill  box."  "Yes,  and  I'd  tote  it  to  hell  if 
only  Old  Rice  had  to  go  'long  afoot ! "  "Billy,"  said 


1 82  The  Story  of  Company  A, 

another  (to  Billy  Lyon),  "don't  you  wish  you  was 

home?"  "Bah!  home  is  a  fool  to  this  place." 

But  all  this  ceased  after  a  while,  and  no  sound 
was  heard  save  the  splashing  of  the  mud  and  water 
as  we  pushed  slowly  on.  After  some  four  hours  of 
this  dreadful  marching,  the  cry  ran  along  the  line  : 
"The  railroad  !  the  railroad  ! "  This  was  good  news, 
indeed,  and  with  desperate  efforts  we  struggled  on, 
Through  and  were  soon  at  the  railroad,  where  we  scrambled 
the  swamp  Qn  to  ^e  freight  cars  awaiting  us,  and  like  starving 
men  ate  the  rations  that  were  soon  brought.  We 
reached  New  Berne  at  5  P.  M.,  Saturday,  May  23d, 
and  were  at  home  in  Camp  Oliver. 

We  marched  thirty  miles  on  this  expedition. 
Several  men  had  to  be  brought  out  of  the  swamp 
on  stretchers,  and  it  was  said  that  two  or  three  died 
before  they  could  be  got  out.  At  dark  of  this  day 
the  Rebs,  who  had  followed  us,  attacked  our  force 
at  Bachellor's  Creek.  This  post  was  gallantly  de- 
fended, but  Colonel  Jones — he  who  was  in  command 
on  this  expedition — was  shot  dead. 

In  June  of  1863  the  troops  were  employed  in 
building  fortifications,  and  as  the  thermometer  would 
often  show  over  one  hundred  in  the  shade,  work 
ceased  during  the  hottest  part  of  the  day.  This  labor 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  183 

in  such  extremely  hot  weather  was  very  trying  to 


the  men,  and  the  sick  list  was  soon  doubled.  The 
daily  drills  were  kept  up,  and  the  Twenty-fifth  was 
never  allowed  to  play  second  fiddle  in  that  respect. 

On  the  4th  of  July  the  Company  was  ordered  to 
the  breastworks  near  Fort  Totten.  A  cavalry  ex- 
pedition had  started  from  New  Berne,  and  the 
infantry  were  to  stay  in  the  fortifications  until  it 
returned,  which  it  did  on  the  /th,  and  the  Company 
marched  back  to  Camp  Oliver.  On  the  i/th  of 
July  the  Company  went  on  another  expedition.  On  the 
Crossing  the  Neuse  river  and  landing  at  Fort  An- 
derson, we  marched  at  once  into  the  country.  The 
weather  was  intensely  hot  and  the  roads  heavy  with 
sand,  making  the  marching  very  hard.  We  halted 
at  an  old,  weather-beaten  church,  and  from  its  pul- 
pit Comrade  Daniel  T.  Eaton  gave  us  a  spicy  tem- 
perance lecture.  Meantime  the  cavalry  passed  us 
on  a  raid  towards  Tarboro'.  They  had  with  them 
very  inoffensive  looking  machines  with  which  to 
destroy  railroads.  They  could  with  ease,  they  said, 
turn  a  red-hot  rail  into  a  cork-screw  with  them. 

Beyond  some  sharp  skirmishing  with  the  enemy 
nothing  was  done  by  the  infantry.      On  our  return 

.  24 


184  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

march  water  gave  out.     Our  canteens  were  squeezed 


dry,  and  with  parched  lips  and  swollen  tongues, 
we  dragged  along  to  Fort  Anderson  ;  but  before 
we  reached  it  many  fell  down  into  the  hot  sand 
from  sheer  exhaustion  as  we  marched,  and  with 
difficulty  were  made  to  move  on.  As  we  approached 
A  hard  tne  fort  the  boys  there  saw  us  and  took  in  the  sit- 
march.  uation  at  a  glance.  They  had  pails  of  water  ready 
for  us,  into  which  we  thrust  our  faces  as  dogs  do 
into  a  running  stream.  The  Nectar  of  the  Gods 
was — cold  water !  After  a  short  rest  at  the  fort  we 
recrossed  the  Neuse  and  were  home  again,  July  20. 
Distance  marched,  thirty  miles. 

After  a  few  days'  rest  (camp  duties  performed 
and  drill  kept  up),  on  July  25th  we  were  once  more 
away,  four  companies,  A,  E,  G  and  H  going  on 
board  the  steamer  Rucker,  and  landing  Sunday,  P.  M., 
at  Winton,  on  the  Chowan  river.  We  bivouacked 
on  the  banks  of  the  stream,  and  shortly  after  the 
cavalry  arrived  and  started  off  on  an  expedition  to 
Scouting.  \Veldon.  The  next  day  Companies  A  and  E  under 
Captain  Tom  O'Neil,  started  off  on  a  scout  to  Cole- 
raine,  and  succeeded  in  capturing  forty  horses,  ten 
bales  of  cotton,  six  hundred  pounds  of  tobacco,  and 
any  number  of  mules  and  carriages,  while  negroes 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  185 

by  hundreds  followed  us  on  our  return   march  to 

1863. 
Winton,  with  little  bundles  tied  up  and  swung  on 

sticks  over  their  shoulders,  shouting  "We's  gwine 
to  liberty,  hi-yah,  gwine  to  liberty  ! "  The  negroes 
would  stop  work  in  the  fields,  gaze  at  the  Yankee 
column  a  few  minutes,  drop  hoe  or  axe,  and  fling 
up  their  old  hats  and  shout  "Gwine  to  liberty!" 

"  Gwine 

Their  day  had  come  at  last.  At  some  plantations  to  liberty" 
the  mistress  of  the  house  would  try  to  stop  the  slaves 
from  leaving,  but  it  was  of  no  use.  "Missis,  we's 
agwine  to  liberty."  On  all  the  plantations  no  white 
men  were  visible — the  darkies  said  "all  in  de  Rebel 
army."  A  motley  procession  it  was  as  we  reached 
our  bivouac  at  Winton.  We  had  been  thirty-five 
hours  absent,  and  had  marched  thirty  miles  in  twenty- 
four  hours,  actual  marching  time. 

The  next  day,  Companies  G  and  H,  under  Captain 
Harrington,  started  on  a  similar  scout.  They  were 
gone  twenty-four  hours,  and  brought  in  twelve  bales 
of  cotton,  twenty  horses  and  mules  with  harnesses, 
etc.,  and  a  large  quantity  of  tobacco.  July  3ist  we 
went  on  board  transports  again,  and  reached  New 
Berne  on  the  ist  of  August. 

The  month  of  August  proved  a  sickly  one  for  the 
Company.  At  times  over  twenty  men  would  as- 


1 86  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

semble  at  surgeon's  call,  and  on  one  occasion  at 


roll  call,  only  sixteen  men  answered  to  their  names 
for  duty.  At  one  time  Companies  A  and  E  were 
in  Camp  Oliver  alone,  part  of  the  Regiment  being  in 
Washington,  N.  C.,  some  on  picket,  some  in  hos- 
pitals and  some  on  furlough.  Early  in  September  the 
Company  was  put  on  picket  again  at  the  Red  House. 
This  old  place  looked  like  many  a  New  England 
Red  farm-house.  Surrounded  by  woods,  and  with  white 
House,  tents  on  each  side,  it  formed  a  pretty  picture.  We 
had  for  neighbors  the  One-hundred-and-thirty-first 
New  York.  This  regiment  had  one  company  of 
(said  to  be)  half-breed  Indians ;  they  proved  to  be 
good  scouts  but  poor  soldiers.  Among  the  pets  at 
this  camp  was  a  huge  brown  bear. 

One  Sunday  it  was  announced  that  our  Parson 

would  pay  us  a  visit  with  his  lady  Sunday  school 

teachers ;  and  it  was  expected  that  we  would  be  in 

The     condition  to  receive  them.     Everything  was  put  in 

arj°"  order,   quarters   nicely  cleaned  up,    and   the   men 

teachers,  looked  very  neat  and  trim.  Corporal  Bugbee,  acting 

as  provost,  whose  duty  it  was  to  keep  the  grounds 

clean,  was  attending  to  this  as  the  wagon  containing 

the  delegation  hove  in  sight,   and  he  drew  off  his 

men,  intending  to  complete  the  job  later,  while  the 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  187 

vehicle  came  up,  and  its  precious  freight  entered   

1863. 
the  Red  House.     Hours  passed  ;  the  soldiers  waited 

patiently  in  their  quarters,  but  no  visitors  appeared. 
Meanwhile  a  merry  time  they  had  in  the  house — 
judging  from  the  peals  of  laughter  frequently  heard. 
"Guess  they're  praying,  ain't  they?"  said  one.  "I 
reckon,"  said  another.  Corporal  Bugbee  in  the 
afternoon  started  again  to  finish  his  work  of  clean- 
ing up  the  grounds,  and  was  busy  with  three  or  four 
men  when  the  wagon  was  brought  up  to  take  the 
party  back  to  New  Berne.  As  the  ladies  stepped  into  incident 
the  wagon  one  exclaimed,  "Why,  we  have  forgotten  "/  the 
the  tracts !"  "So  we  have,"  said  another;  and  a 
bundle  of  tracts  was  thrown  out  on  the  ground 
"without  note  or  comment."  Corporal  Bugbee 
quietly  called  one  of  his  men,  and  said,  pointing  to 
the  bundle,  "Remove  that  to  the  rubbish  heap ! " 
The  soldier  with  his  shovel  scooped  up  the  sanctified 
package,  and  "without  note  or  comment,"  tossed  it 
on  to  the  dirt  heap.  The  ladies  looked  at  one  an- 
other with  astonishment  depicted  upon  their  fine 
faces,  and  drove  off  amid  such  exclamations  as 
"Did  you  ever,"  etc.  We  never  saw  our  Parson  or 
his  teachers  at  any  of  our  picket  camps  again.  The 
men  who  witnessed  this  little  incident  enjoyed  it 


1 88  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

much  ;  and  by  the  twinkle  of  his  eye  it  was  plain  to 

see  that  the  Corporal  appreciated  the  humor  of  the 
act. 

While  on  duty  at  the  Red  House  we  had  abund- 
ance of  fruit,  especially  grapes.  Just  outside  or 
beyond  our  outpost,  at  what  was  called  the  Shute 
place,  was  a  grape-vine,  on  which  hung — so  the 
boys  reported — bushels  of  excellent  grapes ;  and 
judging  from  the  grapes  brought  to  camp  from  this 
vine,  they  were  correct.  So  one  morning  the  new 
picket  guard  going  to  relieve  those  on  duty,  took 
for  each  man  two  extra  haversacks,  and  on  reaching 

Fine 

fruit,  the  outpost  a  squad  was  made  up  to  visit  the  Shute 
place.  The  plantation  was  deserted  and  the  house 
had  been  destroyed,  but  the  grape-vine  was  there ; 
and  we  saw  at  once  that  the  stories  told  by  the  boys 
had  not  been  exaggerated.  The  vine  was  of  enor- 
mous size,  growing  over  a  trellis  six  or  eight  feet 
from  the  ground,  and  covered  a  space — to  guess  at 
it — of  ten  to  fifteen  feet  wide  and  fifty  or  sixty  feet 
long.  It  was  loaded  down  with  the  finest  Scupper- 
nongs.  We  posted  our  guard,  and  in  a  very  short 
time  had  every  haversack  full  besides  our  jackets, 
and  jogged  back  towards  our  camp  at  the  Red 
House.  It  was  said  that  over  forty  bushels  of  grapes 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  189 

had  been  picked  from  this  vine  in  one  season.    The 

1863. 
darkies  told  us  :  "  Better  not  eat  dose  grapes.      Gib 

you  de  chills."  "  Bah  ! "  said  a  soldier,  "we'll  eat  the 
grapes  and  d — n  the  chills!"  We  did  eat  them, 
and  we  thought  them  healthy.  The  grapes  actually 
seemed  to  cure  those  who  had  the  chills. 

The  people  in  New  Berne  said  they  tried  to  avoid 
the  early  morning  air  on  account  of  the  chills  ;  also  Chilh 
the  heat  of  the  day  and  the  night  air,  for  the  same 
reason.  It  may  be  that  they  were  right,  but  we 
soldiers  had  to  take  it  all  in.  Morning  or  night  air 
or  heat  of  the  day — it  was  all  the  same  to  us  ;  and 
though  nearly  all  of  us  had  chills,  yet  we  surely  did 
not  have  them  worse  or  more  frequently  than  the 
residents  of  New  Berne. 

On  one  of  the  plantations  in  this  neighborhood 
we  found  a  girl  fifteen  years  old,  who  said  she  had 
never  been  to  New  Berne,  only  eleven  miles  distant, 
and  was  hardly  ever  off  the  old  plantation,  yet  was 
never  lonesome.  Talk  about  a  quiet  life  ! 

Life  on  picket  at  the  Red  House  passed  rapidly 
away.     We  were   not  often  disturbed  while  there,  Dr  Kice 
though  on  October  22d,  Dr.  Rice  and  his  orderly,  captured. 
Private  Savage  of  Company  A,  were  captured  while 
riding  from  Red  House  to  another  picket  camp  in 


1 90  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

broad  daylight.     Dr.  Rice  was  exchanged  the  next' 

1863. 

month,  but  Savage  died  a  prisoner  at  Richmond. 

One  night  we  were  turned  out  twice  by  shots  fired 
in  the  woods  near  by,  but  we  had  no  serious  trouble 
while  here.  We  had  now  been  two  years  in  the 
service  of  the  United  States. 

The  month  previous  (September)  Colonel  Pickett 
assumed  command  of  the  sub-district  of  the  Pamlico, 
from  which  he  was  relieved  the  following  December. 

On  the  night  of  the  24th  of  October,  about  9 
o'clock,  we  left  the  Red  House  in  heavy  marching 
order,  and  proceeded  to  New  Berne,  about  eleven 

Night  ... 

march,  miles.  By  some  mistake,  it  was  said,  wagons  went 
to  New  Berne  nearly  empty,  while  the  soldiers 
marched  heavily  loaded  over  the  same  road.  We 
reached  New  Berne  at  3  A.  M.  of  the  25th,  and  se- 
cured a  couple  of  hours'  sleep  in  and  around  our  old 
cook  house,  the  only  building  on  the  ground  besides 
the  guard  house.  The  old  camp  ground  looked 
deserted  and  dreary  enough,  not  a  tent  standing 
where  so  many  had  stood  in  months  past ;  and  the 
place  that  had  been  our  home  so  long  was  desolate 
indeed,  At  5  P.  M.  of  the  same  day  we  got  on  board 
a  train  of  freight  cars,  and  started  for  Beaufort, 
bidding  good-bye  forever  to  old  Camp  Oliver. 


2 '$th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  191 

Camp  Oliver  had  been  in  existence  about  sixteen   

months,  and  during  a  great  portion  of  this  time  it 
had  been  occupied  by  some  part  of  the  Twenty-fifth 
Regiment ;  and  the  boys  had  come  to  speak  of  it  as 

home. 

It  commenced  to  rain  soon  after  leaving  New 
Berne,  and  the  train  sped  on  through  the  mist  and 
darkness,  the  boys  feeling  sober  and  wondering 
what  would  come  next.  Reaching  Beaufort  (or 
rather,  Morehead  City)  we  went  on  board  our  old 
steamboat,  the  S.  R.  Spaulding,  which  was  crowded 
to  its  utmost.  We  made  an  attempt  to  put  to  sea, 
but  were  unable  to  get  around  Cape  Lookout  on 
account  of  heavy  weather ;  so  we  anchored  under 
the  lee  of  the  Cape,  close  to  the  lighthouse,  for  the 
night.  Next  morning  (October  2;th)  we  succeeded 
in  doubling  the  Cape,  and  pushed  on  around  Cape 
Hatteras  (the  fourth  time  for  many  of  us)  with  fort- 
unately a  comparatively  calm  sea ;  and  still  on  be- 
tween Capes  Charles  and  Henry,  entering  Chesa- 
peake Bay.  We  went  past  Fortress  Monroe  where 
our  fleet  had  its  rendezvous  when  we  started  on  the 
Burnside  expedition,  nearly  two  years  before  ;  and  at 
length  reached  Newport  News  at  the  mouth  of  the 
James  river ;  and  on  the  2d  of  November  Camp 
25 


1 92  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

Upton  was  formed,  named  after  our  old  Colonel. 
At  this  camp  Dr.  Rice  returned  to  the  Regiment, 
having  been  exchanged. 

When  we  first  landed  at  Newport  News  we  had 
shelter  tents  given  out  to  us.  These  were  strips  of 
light  canvas  five  or  six  feet  square,  with  buttons  and 
button-holes  around  the  edges.  Two  of  these  but- 
toned, together  and  drawn  over  a  support  something 
like  an  A  tent,  formed  a  shelter  under  which  two 
men  could  crawl  like  dogs,  their  rubber  blankets 
keeping  them  from  the  ground.  A  tents  were  given 
Camp  us  later,  and  the  place  began  to  look  more  like  a 

Upton. 

camp.  As  in  New  Berne  we  had  raised  the  Sibley 
tents  and  added  a  curtain  of  canvas,  so  here  we 
built  a  kind  of  stockade  of  pine  slats — a  narrow, 
rough  sort  of  clapboard,  six  to  eight  inches  wide 
and  four  feet  long — and  mounted  the  A  tent  on  top. 
This  made  a  roomy  place,  but  we  had  to  stop  the 
cracks  with  mud  "to  keep  the  wind  away."  These  slats 
were  cut  from  pine  logs  by  the  darkies,  who  charged 
us  one  dollar  per  hundred  for  those  four  feet  long  and 
a  dollar  and  a  quarter  for  the  six  feet  lengths.  We 
had  boys  detailed  to  cut  these  slats,  and  after  a  little 
practice  some  cut  them  as  readily  as  the  darkies. 
In  the  early  part  of  December  Colonel  Pickett 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  193 

returned  to  the  Regiment  and  assumed  command.   

1863. 

While  here  at  Newport  News  we  had  stoves  in- 
troduced into  some  of  the  tents.    They  were  tunnel- 
shaped,  made  of  sheet  iron,  and  had  no  bottom  ;  and 
were   placed  on   the  ground,   the   pipe   going    up 
through  the  top  of  the  tent.      They  worked  very 
well.     In  the  Sergeants'  tent  we  had  a  little  coal 
stove  that  had  followed  us  from  North  Carolina  ;  and 
Sergeant  Wesson   ("Rats")    had  found  some  hard 
coal  in  an  old  cellar-hole  where  a  building  had  been 
burnt  close  by,  'so  with  a  coal  fire  we  were  kept  very 
comfortable.     At  first  it  would  smoke  in  spite  of  all 
we  could  do.      Wesson  tried  everything  he  could 
think  of  to  stop  it,  but  to  no  purpose.      We  cut  off  A  smoky 
an  old  boot  leg  and  fitted  it  on  to  the  top  of  the    stove- 
pipe ;  that  worked  well  for  a  while,  but  the  heat 
destroyed  it.     It  was  evident  our  pipe  was  not  long 
enough — "That's  what's  the    matter."      We   went 
outside  to  reconnoiter.     Our  neighbors'  (next  com- 
pany's) tent  backed  up  to  ours.    Their  stove  did  not 
smoke  and  their  pipe  was  one  section  higher  than 
ours.    Rats  put  his  fore  finger  to  his  nose  and  looked 
very  wise,  got  a  cracker  box,  placed  it  close  to  our 
neighbors'  tent,  mounted  it,  and  with  leather  gloves 
quietly  and  quickly  removed  the  upper  section  from 


194  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

their  pipe  and  placed  it  on  our  own.    We  retired  to 


our  tent  and  seated  ourselves  on  our  bunks  to  "wait 

the  turn  of  events."     Presently  from  our  neighbors' 

tent:    "Hallo,   Company  A  Sergeants;    how    does 

your  stove  work  ?"      "First-rate,   real  comfortable; 

how  does  yours  go  ?"      "It  smokes  like  thunder!" 

They  went  out  of  their  tent  and  we  heard  them 

Rats'    discussing  the  state  of  affairs  ;  we  slipped  out  and 

practical  }jstenecj  to  their  story,  and  when   it  was  told  Rats 

joke. 

quietly  remarked,  "Your  pipe  ain't  long  enough, 
that's  what's  the  matter."  "I  vow,  I  thought  our 
pipe  was  longer  than  that."  "It  looks  short  com- 
pared with  ours,"  said  Wesson,  "you  get  another 
length  of  pipe  and  you'll  be  all  right."  We  retired 
to  our  tent  again,  and  soon  we  hear  from  the  other  : 
"Well,  I  don't  understand  this."  "I  do,"  said  Rats 
in  a  low  tone  ;  and  he  evidently  did.  Our  stove 
did  not  smoke  any  more  but — Rats  did. 

One  day  a  comrade  reported  :  "Sergeant,  I've 
found  a  lot  of  bricks  out  here  in  the  weeds  (which 
were  quite  high  all  around  the  camp);  detail  a 
squad  of  men  to  go  and  get  'em,  and  we'll  have 
Our  oven.  an  oven  and  baked  beans  tomorrow  morning."  The 
detail  was  made  ;  and  soon  eight  or  ten  Company  A 
boys  were  seen  coming  through  the  weeds,  each 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.                            195 
loaded  down  with  bricks  ;  and  in  a  short  time  an   

T  Rfio 

oven  was  built,  and  we  did  have  baked  beans  for 
breakfast  the  next  morning,  to  the  astonishment  of 
our  neighbors,  who  said,  "That's  it ;  Company  A 
always  has  the  best  of  everything."  Very  true  ;  we 
did,  but  we  got  it  ourselves. 

In  plain  sight  at  low  tide,  and  but  a  few  rods  from 
shore,   were   the   wrecks   of  the   frigates    Congress  Wrecks. 
and  Cumberland sunk  by  the  Rebel  ram  Merrimack; 
also  the  two-turreted  monitor  Roanoke,  and  later 
the  captured  Rebel  ironclad  Atlanta. 

At  a  review  early  in  December  General  Foster 
bade  his  old  soldiers  farewell,  in  consequence  of  his 
transfer  to  another  department ;  and  Maior-General 

Gen.  B.F. 

Benjamin  F.  Butler  assumed  command.  General  Butler. 
Heckman,  formerly  Colonel  of  the  Ninth  New  Jer- 
sey, took  command  of  our  brigade,  which  was  known 
as  "Heckman's  Flying  Brigade,"  sometimes  spoken 
of  as  the  "Red  Star  Brigade,"  from  the  flag  at  head- 
quarters. It  was  a  severe  blow  to  the  old  North 
Carolina  soldiers  to  lose  General  Foster,  but  he  had 
the  good  wishes  of  every  man  of  his  old  command. 
While  at  this  camp  sickness  thinned  our  ranks  to  a 
great  extent,  and  Company  A  on  occasions  turned 
out  but  twenty-three  men  for  duty. 


CHAPTER    X. 

CAMP,  MARCH,  AND  BIVOUAC. 

HAVE  now  followed  Company  A  from  the 
muster-in  at  Camp  Lincoln  to  Camp  Upton  in 
Virginia.  We  have  seen  the  Company  in  camp, 
in  battle,  on  the  march,  and  in  bivouac ;  we  have 
seen  how  the  men  behaved  under  the  most  trying 
circumstances.  Let  us  now  leave  them  for  a  while 
in  comfortable  quarters  at  Camp  Upton,  and  look  a 
little  closer  into  the  daily  life  of  the  soldier  in  active 

Ignorance  .  111  r      • 

of  soldier  service-  Lvery  veteran  has  had,  scores  ot  times, 
life-  questions  asked  him  which  show  little  knowledge 
of  soldier  life  on  the  part  of  the  inquirer,  and  which 
seem  to  one  familiar  with  it  hardly  worth  answering; 
but  comrades  must  remember  that  our  children,  as 
well  as  the  great  mass  of  the  people,  know  as  little 
of  these  things  as  we  ourselves  did  at  the  start ;  and 
it  may  be  well  to  satisfy  their  inquiries,  often  ex- 


2$th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  197 


pressed,  as,  How  do  soldiers  prepare  for  an  expedi-   

tion  ?  How  do  they  march,  sleep  and  eat,  build 
fires  in  stormy  weather?  etc.  In  attempting  to  an- 
swer, the  simplest  way,  perhaps,  will  be  to  describe 
soldier  life  in  camp  and  bivouac,  and  on  a  march. 

f 

When  we  speak  of  a  camp,  the  idea  suggests 
itself  at  once  of  a  soldier's  home,  to  a  certain  extent 
permanent ;  while  bivouac  is  at  the  most  but  a  tem- 
porary halt  or  rest.  In  camp  we  expect  to  find 
comfortable  tents  pitched  in  regular  order,  company 
streets  formed,  good  quarters  for  cook  houses, 
grounds  in  perfect  order  for  parades  and  the  like  ; 

Camp  vs. 

while  in  bivouac  no  tents  are  pitched,  and  none  are  bivouac. 
carried  on  marches  in  war  time.  In  active  service 
on  a  march  there  is  no  time  to  fool  away  pitching 
tents,  and  we  expect,  at  most,  only  a  few  hours' 
rest.  It  may  be — and  usually  is — for  the  night,  but 
all  are  ready  to  move  at  a  minute's  notice.  In  camp 
the  soldier  gradually  gathers  all  sorts  of  conven- 
iences around  him  ;  in  his  tent  we  often  find  board 
floors,  stools  and  benches  made  of  cracker  boxes, 
and  very  comfortable  bunks  to  sleep  in.  In  bivouac 
all  these  are  done  away  with ;  the  soldier  sleeps  on 
the  ground  rolled  in  his  blanket,  as  best  he  can. 
He  cooks  his  coffee  in  bivouac — every  man  for  him- 


1 98  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

self — while  in  camp  the  company  cooks  attend  to 

all  that. 

In  a  wet,  swampy  country  bivouacking  is  wretched 
business ;  but  on  any  dry  ground  it  is  certainly  su- 
perior to  tenting,  and  is  the  healthier  of  the  two. 
The  A  tents,  which  held  six  men  with  all  their 
equipments,  were  close,  stifling  things  at  best ;  the 
Sibley  tents  were  much  superior,  being  higher  and 
more  airy. 

In  starting  from  camp  on  a  march — say  at  4  A.  M. 
— the  company  cooks  are  ordered  in  advance  to  have 

Prepara-          ,  -11 

tionsfor  rations  ready  at  the  proper  time  ;  and  they  are  ready, 
a  march,  even  if  it  takes  all  night  to  do  it.  The  men  are 
roused,  and  go  to  the  cook  house  to  draw  their 
rations  of  cooked  meat,  hard  bread,  ground  coffee, 
and  sugar — perhaps  three  days'  allowance  ;  and  (a 
very  important  item)  the  canteen  is  filled  with  cold 
water.  The  soldiers  don  their  equipments,  form  in 
the  company  street  in  two  ranks,  and  count  off  so 
that  each  man  will  know  his  place  in  marching  by 
the  flank  in  fours.  The  company  is  then  marched 
to  the  parade  ground,  where  the  regimental  line  is 
formed.  In  leaving  the  camp  it  is  by  the  flank  in 
fours.  No  music  accompanies  the  soldiers  on  these 
marches,  so  no  attempt  is  made  at  keeping  step ; 


2$th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  199 

but  the  order  "Route  step"  is  given,   and  the   men   

"go  as  you  please,"  the  fours  simply  keeping  to- 
gether and  marching  abreast.  The  order  "Arms  at 
will"  follows,  and  the  men  carry  their  rifles  in  the  Thewa 
most  comfortable  way,  at  "right  shoulder  shift"  gen-  they 
erally ;  and  go  jogging  along,  talking,  laughing, 
telling  stories,  etc.  At  the  proper  time  the  order 
"Halt"  is  heard,  and  every  man  is  in  his  place  with 
rifle  to  the  shoulder ;  "Front,"  and  like  a  machine 
the  men  face  to  the  front,  and  the  regimental  line  is 
formed,  every  man  in  the  same  position  he  was 
when  he  started.  At  a  halt  every  soldier  looks  out 
for  his  own  rifle  and  never  loses  sight  of  it ;  it  must 
be  within  reach  at  any  time  and  all  the  time ;  but  at 
a  bivouac  for  the  night,  when  safe  to  do  so,  guards 
are  posted  and  the  guns  are  stacked.  The  men  go 
for  water  and  wood — rails,  usually  ;  fires  are  quickly 
built,  and  as  quickly  covered  with  tin  cups  filled 
with  water  from  the  "old  canteen"  if  it  contains  any, 
if  not,  a  search  is  made  for  some. 

The  boys  are  about  making  coffee.  Shall  we  see 
how  they  do  it  ?  Fire  of  fence  rails  to  start  with — 
fence  rails  make  the  best  possible  fire  for  cooking 
coffee  at  a  bivouac.  Now  the  tin  cup,  holding  a 
quart,  filled  with  water,  is  placed  on  the  fire.  Now 
26 


2OO  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

two    or    more  heaping  table-spoonfuls    of  ground 

coffee  is  added  (Uncle  Sam  used  to  give  his  boys 
excellent  coffee  in  the  army).  Stir  gently  and  watch 
carefully.  See  the  rich  golden  color  as  you  keep 
stirring.  Watch  the  bubbles  as  they  appear  and 
disappear  on  the  surface  of  this  amber-colored  sea. 
Now  gently  put  in  sugar  as  you  may  desire.  Still 
stirring  it  begins  to  boil.  Saints  and  Ministers  of 
Grace !  What  an  aroma  is  that  which  greets  our 
expectant  nostrils.  Odors  from  Araby  the  blest — 
incense  to  the  gods !  Steady  now — it  must  not  boil 

C off€€ 

making  to°  long-  Insert  your  bayonet  into  the  hole  in  the 
handle  of  your  cup — a  hole  you  punched  there  for 
this  very  purpose — and  lift  it  with  its  fragrant, 
steaming  contents  from  the  fire.  Now  from  the 
old  canteen  throw  in  a  dash  of  cold  water  to  settle 
it,  and — it  is  done.  Now  for  the  haversack.  Salt 
horse  and  hard-tack — usually  with  something  bet- 
ter;* it  depends  somewhat  on  the  country  we  have 
been  traveling  through — and  with  a  soldier's  staving 
appetite,  what  a  supper  is  that !  Is  it  the  coffee,  or 
appetite,  or  both? 

*  Sometimes  a  few  onions  or  a  bit  of  cabbage  have  been  carried  for  miles 
in  the  haversack,  and  now  they  work  in  first-rate.  There  is  a  place  to  eat 
onions  and  cabbage — around  the  bivouac  fire. 


2$th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  201 

Sometimes  a  soldier  will    accidentally  hit  a  rail   

with  his  foot,  shaking  the  contents  of  all  the  tin 
cups.  What  a  rumpus  follows.  "Get  out  of  that"  A  ,pus 
says  one.  "Can't  you  pick  up  your  cracker  boxes 
(brogans)  easier  than  that  ? "  says  the  second. 
"Look  at  the  cuss,  trying  to  run  his  gunboats  (bro- 
gans again)  around  the  camp  fire."  A  shower  of 
such  talk  greets  the  ears  of  the  unlucky  offender, 
who  for  a  while  keeps  quiet,  to  say  the  least. 

Now  it  is  time  to  turn  in  and  get  some  sleep  if 
possible.  Let  us  step  out  from  the  glare  of  the  fire- 
light into  the  darkness,  and  look  at  the  scene  before 
us.  How  strongly  the  features  of  the  men  are 
brought  out  by  the  light  of  the  blazing  fire.  What 
healthy  brown  faces  they  are.  In  paintings  we  A  look 
have  such  scenes  as  this,  but  this  is  the  living  pic-  at  thl 
ture.  The  fires  are  burning  low,  but  here  and  there 
the  smoke  is  still  curling  gracefully  up  in  the  cool 
night  air  ;  and  now,  as  some  one  stirs  up  the  smolder- 
ing embers  and  puts  on  fresh  rails,  a  shower  of 
sparks,  like  golden  bees,  floats  quietly  away  as  the 
spray  of  a  fountain  in  the  sunlight.  Here  is  a  sol- 
dier by  himself  smoking  his  pipe,  and  no  doubt 
thinking  of  home  ;  there  are  two  fellows — chums — 
curled  up  together  spoon- fashion,  with  their  feet  to 


202  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

the  fire,  capes  of  their  overcoats  drawn  over  their 

heads,  sleeping  as  quietly  as  kittens  ;  others  are 
talking  in  a  low  tone  of  a  face  they  miss  to-night — 
a  face  they  will  never  see  more  around  the  bivouac 
fire.  They  gradually  become  silent,  and  roll  them- 
selves in  their  blankets  and  overcoats,  and  sleep. 
Thus  the  men  disappear,  the  fires  are  left  to  burn 
themselves  out,  and  silence  reigns  over  the  sleeping 
bivouac. 

Some  sleep  on  their  backs  ;  others  sleep  on  their 
sides,  using  cartridge  box  for  pillow  ;  others  roll  up, 
sl  three  or  four  together,  the  last  man  in  tucks  up  the 
rest  and  then  wriggles  his  way  into  the  middle ;  and 
all  have  their  rubber  blankets  to  lay  on  the  ground. 
The  old  soldier,  if  left  to  himself,  selects  at  once 
the  best  place  to  spread  his  blanket,  his  first  point 
being  protection  from  rain  and  wind  ;  and  a  rubber 
blanket  is  admirably  adapted  for  the  purpose — all 
sorts  of  shelters  can  be  made  with  it.  I  do  not  see 
how  the  soldiers  could  have  got  along  without  their 
"gum  blankets,"  as  the  Johnnies  called  them. 

In  seeking  shelter  from  the  wind  your  old  soldier 
would  not  select  a  place  under  a  tree.  It  is  a,  mis- 
take often  made  by  the  inexperienced  soldier  to 
choose  a  spot  to  spread  his  blanket  under  some 


Shelter  at 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols. 

large  tree,  with  dense  foliage  above  but  no  pro- 
tection from  the  wind  below ;  and  this  protection 
from  the  wind  that  blows  is  what  he  wants.  The 
veteran  finds  some  thick  low  bushes  through  which 
the  wind  cannot  easily  penetrate,  or  rigs  up  his 
rubber  blanket  in  some  sheltered  spot,  so  that 
it  will  serve  as  a  screen  or  shield.  The  tree 
would  give  him  a  sort  of  roof,  which  is  not  needed 
in  a  clear,  windy  night.  A  man  sleeping  on  the 
ground  lies  pretty  flat  and  takes  up  little  room,  so 
that  any  thick  shelter  that  is  knee-high  is  shield 
enough  from  any  wind  that  blows,  provided  the  wind 
cannot  blow  through  it.  I  have  made  a  good  shel- 
ter by  cutting  down  bushes  and  sticking  them  in 
the  ground  thickly  together.  We  used  to  think 
when  lying  on  the  ground  with  the  enemy's  shot 
and  shell  flying  over  us,  that  we  could  lie  as  thin  as 
a  plank ;  some  thought  as  thin  as  a  board ;  while 
Comrade  Bolster  declared  that  he  could  lay  as  thin 
as  a  shingle ;  but  when  the  bullets  pierced  the  very 
caps  on  our  heads,  taking  a  lock  of  hair  by  which  to 
be  remembered,  we  wished  we  could  lie  flatter  than 
that. 

If  it  be  a  rainy  night  it  is  the  roof  over  his  head 
the.  soldier  wants ;   and    here,    again,    the    rubber 


204  The  Story  of  Company  A. 


blanket  comes  in  play.    We  have  seen  how,  at  New 

Berne,  the  soldiers  made  shelters  from  the  rubber 
blankets  to  the  best  advantage,  and  it  need  not  be 
repeated  here.  The  rubber  blanket  in  those  days 
was  two  yards  long,  a  yard  and  a  quarter  wide,  and 
weighed  three  pounds.  It  was  indeed  the  soldier's 

soldier's  friend.      The  woolen  blanket  weighed    about    five 

fnend.  pOunc}S)  ancj  measured  two  and  a  quarter  by  one 
and  three  quarters  yards. 

There  are  more  ways  than  one  to  prepare  a  place 
to  sleep  on  the  ground.  It  is  true  an  old  soldier 
can  sleep  anywhere — on  a  plank,  or  on  a  rock  even  ; 
but  he  will  not  if  he  can  do  any  better — he  will  take 

HOW  to  t^e  kest;  Of  what  there  is  every  time.      There   is  a 

sleep. 

way  to  sleep  comfortably  on  dry  ground.  "I  was 
once  spreading  my  rubber  blanket  on  the  ground 
preparing  to  turn  in,  when  an  old  soldier  from 
another  regiment,  who  was  passing  by,  said  :  'If  you 
want  to  sleep  well,  dig  a  place  for  your  hips,  man.' 
I  looked  up,  and  he  continued  :  'Scoop  out  a  place 
for  your  hips  three  or  four  inches  deep,  and  another 
about 'half  as  deep  for  your  shoulders,  then  spread 
your  rubber  and  lie  in  the  hollows,  and  you'll  sleep 
like  a  top,  sir.'  I  thanked  him  and  followed  his 
advice,  and  certainly  never  slept  so  well  on  a  march 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  205 

before."     The  point  seems  to  be  "Make  the  bed   

fit  your  body,"  not  your  body  fit  the  bed,  as  it  would 
have  to  on  any  hard  surface  like  a  board  or  hard 
ground.  But  this  cannot  always  be  done,  so  the 
soldier  must  try  other  ways.  If  a  fellow  is  lucky 
enough  to  find  two  logs,  he  can  have  a  capital  place 
for  his  blanket  between  them,  and  they  will  keep 
the  wind  off. 

There  are  pleasures  in  bivouac  that  are  entirely 
lost  in  camp  or  tent  life.  There  is  no  mistake  about 
it,  a  man  breathes  better  ;  and  it  is  a  pleasure  to  lie 
half  asleep  and  listen  to  the  sounds  of  life  around 

.  ,  ,       ,  .  ,-      ,  ,  Pleasures 

on  every  side;  watch  the  motions  of  the  men,  and  of thg 
hear  them  talk,  joke  or  sing  as  they  move  about  the  bivouac. 
fires,  smoking  as  they  always  do  at  such  times ;  and 
later,  to  awake  when  the  fires  are  low,  and  all  sounds 
of  man  are  hushed,  to  hear  the  wind  go  murmuring 
by,  and  watch  the  stars  in  a  beautiful,  clear  night ; 
or  to  catch  the  lonely  cry  of  some  swift-winged 
night  bird  as  it  flies  quietly  past,  or,  may  be,  hear 
the  voice  of  a  wild  animal  from  afar  off ;  and  then 
the  sleeper's  eyes  close  dreamily  to  open  no  more 
till  the  bugle  sounds  reveille.  All  this  is  impossible 
in  tent  life. 

But  there  is  a  reverse  side  to  this :  say  a  freezing 


206  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

cold  night,  as  on  our  return  march  from  Goldsboro', 

when  the  water  froze  in  the  canteens  under  our 
heads  as  we  lay  on  the  ground  with  our  feet  to  the 
fire  ;  or  at  other  times  when  we  had  to  walk  about 
all  night  to  keep  from  being  chilled  through  ;  or 
again,  cold,  stormy  nights,  with  the  ground  soaked 
with  water,  and  the  rain  falling  doggedly  all  night 

The 

reverse  long.  These  are  certainly  not  pleasant  pictures 
side.  to  contemplate  ;  but  still,  the  soldier  with  a  good 
rubber  blanket,  a  thick,  warm  woolen  one,  and  a 
stout  overcoat,  is  pretty  well  prepared  for  any  sort 
of  weather  ;  and  then,  there  are  more  pleasant,  com- 
fortable nights  than  stormy  ones,  more  warm  ones 
than  cold  ;  and,  given,  tents  crowded  to  suffocation, 
or  a  chance  in  the  open  air,  I  think  most  soldiers 
would  prefer  the  latter. 

After  all,  it  is  coming  pretty  near  nature,  this 
bivouac  life  ;  and  men  get  thoroughly  saturated  with 
that  spirit  of  wild  freedom  that  possessed  the  old 
freebooters.  It  is  easy  to  see  how  soldiers  long 
absent  from  home,  under  a  beloved  and  victorious 
commander,  could  be  led  almost  anywhere — no  ex- 
pedition would  be  too  hazardous.  Witness  the 
legions  of  Alexander  and  Hannibal,  and  the  armies 
of  Napoleon. 


2$th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  207 

On  marches  orders  are  sometimes  issued  against   

foraging.  This  is  very  good.  "Private  property  to 
be  respected,"  etc.  Quite  right.  Such  orders  are  Foraging, 
always  obeyed  in  a  general  way ;  but  suppose  a 
soldier  does  pick  up  a  pair  of  chickens,  what  then  ? 
An  instance  of  this.  On  a  certain  march  in  North 
Carolina  orders  had  been  given  that  there  must  be 
no  foraging.  We  all  understood  it.  One  day  at  a  halt 
late  in  the  afternoon,  a  soldier  came  slowly  up  to 
the  fire,  rifle  on  his  shoulder  with  a  ham  stuck  on 
his  bayonet,  and  a  pair  of  chickens  in  one  hand. 
At  this  moment  who  should  appear  but  the  Colonel 
himself,  riding  slowly  along  the  line  ;  and  meeting 
the  forager  face  to  face.  We  expected  there  would 

Caught  in 

be  a  scene — and  there  was.  "What  did  you  pay  the  act. 
for  chickens  to-day,  my  lad  ?"  asked  Colonel  Pickett. 
"I  didn't  pay  nothin'  for  'em,  sir."  It  was  easy  to 
see  that  the  Colonel  was  anything  but  angry\  but  it 
would  not  do  to  show  it ;  so,  severely :  "You  heard 
the  orders  against  foraging?"  "Why  yes  sir,  I  did," 
said  the  man,  standing  erect  in  the  position  of  a 
soldier,  with  the  chickens  still  hanging  by  his  side, 
and  the  ham  sticking  on  his  bayonet ;  and  he  ex- 
pecting to  have  his  head  taken  off  right  there.  It 
was  too  comical  a  sight ;  the  Colonel  could  not  stand 
27 


208  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

it,  but  again  speaking  as  severely  as  he  could  while 

trying  to  suppress  laughter,  said  :  "Well,  I'd  bear  it 
in  mind  after  this,"  and  he  rode  away ;  but  gave  a 
parting  shot  at  the  forager  as  he  disappeared  :  "I 
hope  you'll  have  a  good  supper  to-night."  "Thank 
you,  sir."  and  he  dropped  the  chickens  and  saluted 
the  Colonel  in  true  military  style. 

Now  the  Colonel  could  have  had  the  chickens 
taken  away  from  the  soldier,  placed  him  under  ar- 
rest, and  on  our  return  to  camp  made  an  example 
of  him  for  "disobeying  orders."  The  effect  would 
have  been  that  the  soldier  would  have  borne  if  with 
a  dogged  indifference,  and  ever  after  would  have 
Efficient  foraged  every  chance  he  got ;  as  it  was,  the  soldier 
reproof.  was  pum'shed  enough.  He  had  been  reprimanded 
by  the  Colonel  before  his  comrades ;  there  was  no 
chance  for  him  to  be  defiant  about  it ;  and  perhaps 
worst  of  all,  he  was  expected  to  have  a  good  supper 
off  the  chickens  the  Colonel  knew  he  had  disobeyed 
orders  to  get.  "Got  off  easy  this  time,  didn't  you  ?" 
said  one.  "Should  think  I  did.  Wish  to  God  he'd 
taken  the  chickens  though,"  was  the  reply.  No 
more  foraging  by  that  soldier,  on  that  tramp  to  say 
the  least.  This  was  another  instance  of  "not  seeing 
too  much"  on  the  part  of  the  commander.  That 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  209 

soldier  no  doubt  had  a  good  chicken  stew  that  night ;   

and  quite  likely  he  sent  a  dishful  to  the  Colonel's 
fire,  and  probably  the  dish  was  returned  empty,  with 
thanks ;  and  yet  the  army  was  perfectly  safe. 

What  troubles  soldiers  the  most  on  a  march  is  the 
want  of  water,  and  this  is  often  hard  to  be  borne. 
Then,  again,  water  obtained  on  marches  is  generally 
vile  stuff  to  drink.  We  had  fo  get  it  where  we  could 
— from  ditches  by  the  wayside,  swamps,  and  sluggish 
streams  ;  and  we  had  a  variety  of  colors  and  tastes.  Water. 
To  offset  this  we  often  resorted  to  the  trick  of 
putting  a  couple  of  spoonfuls  of  ground  coffee  into 
our  canteen  of  water,  and  in  a  short  time  we  had  a 
canteen  of  cold  coffee — at  least  the  coffee  taste 
proved  stronger  than  that  of  the  bad  water ;  and  we 
flattered  ourselves  that  it  was  better  for  us. 

To  go  without  one  meal  was  passed  over  as  a 
joke,  and  we  pulled  the  old  waist-belt  tighter ;  but 
to  be  without  water  on  a  march  under  a  burning- 
sun  in  Carolina  was  terrible.  When  a  column  is 
marching  it  is  not  so  easy  to  get  water  as  a  novice 
would  think.  A  man  will  take  a  dozen  canteens, 
and,  leaving  his  rifle  to  be  carried  by  a  comrade, 
will  start  for  water.  Now  if  he  succeeds  in  finding 
water  readily,  and  enough  of  it,  he  is  very  lucky ; 


2io  The  Story  of  Company  A. 


but  even  then  he  has  a  tedious  job  to  get  it,  for  can- 
teens fill  slowly,  and  when  he  has  them  full  he  has 
a  heavy  weight  to  carry,  and  does  not  feel  like  taking 
a  "double-quick"  back  to  his  company.  He  places 
the  canteens,  some  over  his  shoulders  to  hang  on 
each  side,  and  carries  some  in  each  hand  ;  and  when 
he  regains  the  road  he  finds  that  the  column  has 
been  moving  all  the  time,  and  his  regiment  may  be 
•one,  or  even  two  miles  away,  and  he  must  move 
faster  than  his  comrades  in  order  to  overtake  them ; 
so  that  when  he  reaches  his  own  company  he  is 
certainly  more  tired  than  those  who  stayed  in  the 
column.  It  is  this  hard  work  to  "catch  up''  that 
keeps  many  from  dropping  out  who  really  need  a 
rest. 

Another  thing  that  troubles  soldiers  on  a  march, 

especially  if  it  is  a  forced  march  or  one  of  any  great 

Foot     length,  is  sore,  chafed  feet.      One  might  think  old 

troubles,  soldiers  would  never  be  troubled  that  way,  but  they 
are — some  more  than  others,  to  be  sure — but  with 
getting  the  feet  wet  in  crossing  streams  and  again 
marching  on  roads  heavy  with  sand,  "which  works 
into  the  brogans  and  finds  plenty  of  room,"  the  feet 
will  get  sore  in  spite  of  the  best  of  care.  As  a  cav- 
alry soldier  looks  after  his  horse,  so  an  infantry 


2$th  Regf.,  Mass.  Vols.  211 


soldier  looks  out  for  his  feet ;  and  to  obviate  this   

trouble  various  expedients  were  tried,  such  as  rub- 
bing the  inside  of  the  stocking  with  soap  or  tallow, 
which  helped  the  matter  some  ;  but  it  had  to  be 
borne  as  best  it  could.  The  simple  changing  of  the 
stockings  from  one  foot  to  the  other  while  on  a 
march,  was  often  a  relief  to  the  hot  and  blistered 
feet. 

As  may  be  supposed,  it  is  not  the  easiest  thing  in 
the  world  to  build  a  fire  while  on  a  march,  and  in  Building 
stormy  weather ;  and  not  every  soldier  is  a  good 
fire-builder,  but  there  were  some  who  could  build  a 
fire  anywhere  and  at  any  time.  Nobody  seemed  to 
have  matches,  but  they  were  always  forthcoming 
when  wanted,  from  some  place  unknown.  But  it 
requires  a  deal  of  skill  and  patience  to  coax  the 
flame  of  a  lucifer  into  a  camp  fire.  -Very  few  can 
do  it — not  more  than  half  a  dozen  men  in  a  company 
are  good  at  building  fires  ;  and  there  is  most  always 

one  who  is  the  boss  hand  at  it.     He  will  build  a  fire 

* 

with  everything  "wet  as  thunder,"  and  no  fuss  about 
it  either.  He  will  always  find  dry  twigs  somewhere, 
and  his  fire  is  always  going  first  and  burns  the  best. 
He  must  have  a  gift  that  way. 

The  same  with  foraging.      Some  are   "born  so." 


2 1 2  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

These  fellows  would  make  a  bee-line  for  anything 

in  the  way  of  eatables,  from  any  bivouac,  in  the  dark- 
est night  that  ever  "blew."  People  in  the  South 
had  a  way  of  burying  sweet  potatoes  in  the  ground 
for  winter  use.  These  chaps  would  go  direct  to 
these  places  in  the  dark,  as  though  they  had  buried 

Peculiar  .     J 

faculty,  the  potatoes  there  themselves.  So  with  water. 
I  have  seen  a  fellow  start  as  soon  as  we  had  come 
to  a  halt,  take  a  tin  cup  and  a  few  canteens,  and 
strike  right  out  into  the  blackest  night,  and  in 
twenty  or  thirty  minutes  return  with  plenty  of  water. 
He  took  no  thought  about  it,  made  no  inquiry,  but 
went  straight  for  it,  and  always  was  successful.  I 
did  not  understand  it — I  do  not  now  ;  it  was,  and  is 
to-day  to  me  a  mystery.  These  men  were  invalu- 
able to  a  company — they  might  be  called  company 
bummers.  Notable  among  those  belonging  to 
Company  A  were  Jimmy  Wesson  and  Moses  P. 
Brown. 

Goulding  was  the  story-teller.    Our  orderly,  Jack 

story-   Johnson,  was  also  prominent  in  this  line.    My  stars  ! 

How  he  would  tell  stories — brino"  down  the  house 

singers, 

every  time.  Alas  !  Poor  Jack  has  gone  where — 
well,  I  don't  think  they  tell  any  stories  there  !  Then, 
of  course,  there  were  singers.  E.  B.  Fairbanks, 


2$th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  213 

T.  M.  Ward  ("Artemas"  we  called  him)  and  Charles   

B.  Kendall  stood  here  alone.  Of  course  all  hands 
could  sing  when  occasion  required,  but  the  three 
mentioned  were  real  singers,  with  fine  voices.  And 
what  did  soldiers  sing  ?  We  had  old  Negro  melo- 
dies, college  songs,  and  well-known  patriotic  airs, 
as  well  as  gems  from  the  operas.  But  many  of  the 
very  popular  songs  we  did  not  have  until  brought 
to  us  by  recruits.  The  last  years  of  the  rebellion 
were  much  more  prolific  of  war  songs  than  the  early 
period. 

Perhaps  the  most  popular  were  those  in  which  we 
all  could  join.  "John  Brown"  was  a  famous  one,  Army 
and  everybody  could  sing  that  as  all  army  songs 
were  sung — after  a  fashion.  Then  there  was  that 
very  affecting  one,  in  which  all  could  join  if  they 
chose : 

Oh,  ain't  I  glad  to  git  out  o'  de  wilderness, 
Out  o'  de  wilderness,  out  o'  de  wilderness  ; 
Oh,  ain't  I  glad  to  git  out  o'  de  wilderness, 
Bleating  like  a  lamb. 

/ 
( Chorus}    B-a-a-a-a-a-h  !     O-o-o-o-o-o-h  ! 

Bleating  like  a  lamb,  bleating  like  a  lamb ; 
Oh,  ain't  I  glad  to  git  out  o'  de  wilderness, 
Bleating  like  a  lamb. 


214  The  Story  of  Company  A. 


I  went  down  town  in  a  three  ox  wagon, 
A  three  ox  wagon,  a  three  ox  wagon  ; 
I  went  down  town  in  a  three  ox  wagon, 
Bleating  like  a  lamb. 
B-a-a-a-a-a-h  !  etc. 

There  was  no  end  to  this  song ;  verses  were  often 
made  up  as  they  went  along. 
Another  song  was : 

Three  black  crows  sat  on  a  tree, 

And  they  were  black  as  black  could  be. 

Army   These  lines  were  repeated  by  one  comrade,  and  then 

songs.        ....         ,    . 

all  joined  in — 

One  black  crow  said  unto  his  mate, 
What  shall  we  do  for  food  to  ate  ? 

And  so  on  until  some  one  started  another.  This 
"round"  for  as  many  as  chose  to  join  was  a  popular 
one,  and  was  usually  started  by  Comrade  Goulding. 
Thus : 

Uncle  Abraham,  Uncle  Abraham, 
Sleepest  thou  ?  sleepest  thou  ? 
While  the  girls  are  eating, 
While  the  girls  are  eating 
Pumpkin  pie,  pumpkin  pie. 

And  so  on,  repeating,  till  all  were  tired  out. 

Annie  Laurie  was  a  great  favorite.      Others  were 
Old    Hundred,   Star   Spangled    Banner,    and   Red, 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  215 

White  and  Blue,  as  a  matter  of  course.      Comrade   

Bolster,  with  his  rough,  comic  songs,  always  created 
much  fun  around  the  bivouac  fire.  Comrade  Henry 
Goulding  had  a  way  of  singing  a  few  snatches  of 
old  songs,  which  always  brought  a  laugh  when  the 
men  were  tired  and  cross,  and  good  humor  followed. 
Here  is  one : 

Oh,  I'd  pay  ten  dollars  down, 

And  give  it  mighty  free 

If  I  could  only  find  out  Army 

Who  chucked  that  shell  at  me.  son*s- 

This  is  another : 

The  corporal  stole  a  chicken, 
And  the  captain  thought  it  wrong ; 
So  to  punish  him  he  made  him 
Pick  it  all  night  long. 

The  quaint  humor  of  Comrade  Goulding  was 
really  a  boon  to  Company  A. 

It  is  amusing  to  think  now  how  ignorant  we  all 
were  of  soldier  life  at  the  start.  We  had  somehow 
an  idea  that  a  soldier  must  be  all  the  time  on  the 
move,  marching  or  fighting ;  and  to  be  weeks  or 
perhaps  months  without  one  or  the  other  was  not 
thought  of. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  the  difference  in  the  arms 
we  used  and  those  of  to-day.      Our   old    Enfield 
28 


2 1 6  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

rifles  were  muzzle-loaders,  about  five  feet  long  and 

weighed  nine  and  a  half  pounds,  including  a  ramrod 

three   feet   three   inches   long,   which  weighed  ten' 

ounces.    The  whole  thing  was  clumsy  and  awkward 

Enfieid  in  the  extreme.     The  cartridge   was   of  paper  and 

rifles,  contained  a  conical  leaden  ball  weighing  an  ounce. 
These  cartridges  we  tore  open  with  our  teeth,  pour- 
ing the  powder  down  the  rifle  barrel,  and  sending 
home  the  bullet  with  the  paper  for  wadding,  going 
through  the  tedious  process  of  drawing  and  re- 
turning ramrod.  How  different  the  modern  breech- 
loader with  its  metallic  cartridge,  and  so  light,  no 
clumsy  ramrod,  no  percussion  caps,  and  so  easily 
managed. 

Experience  taught  us  that  big  knives  and  re- 
Useiess  vo^vers  were  useless  lumber  for  a  private  soldier, 
lumber,  and  we  soon  learned  what  a  quantity  of  stuff  was 
absolutely  worthless  for  a  soldier's  use.  We  will 
suppose  him  to  be  on  a  march.  The  clothes  he 
stands  in,  rifle  and  equipments,  canteen,  haversack 
containing  plate,  knife,  fork  and  spoon,  and  his 
rubber  blanket  (sometimes  a  woolen  one  also),  are 
all  the  old  soldier  will  carry,  and  these  are  often 
reduced  in  quantity,  for  a  pound  at  the  start  may 
seem  ten  pounds  before  he  reaches  the  bivouac  at 


2$th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  217 

night.      In   summer   time   the   scorching   sun,   and   

roads  heavy  with  dust  or  sand  made  it  very  tedious 
marching,  while  in  winter,  wind,  rain  and  cold  are 
equally  disagreeable. 

The  distance  marched  in  a  day  by  foot  soldiers  is 
often  commented  upon  on  account  of  the  few  miles 
traveled.  A  man,  it  is  said,  can  walk  forty  miles  in 
a  day.  True,  a  good  walker  might  do  it,  but  he  is 
one  man,  goes  as  he  pleases,  and  has  no  heavy  load  , 

'  Distance 

of  rifle,  etc.,  to  carry.  To  march  a  brigade  in  a  day  marched. 
as  far  as  one  man  can  walk  is  simply  impossible. 
The  more  men,  the  less  number  of  miles  traversed. 
It  is  good  marching  for  a  regiment  to  travel  two 
miles  an  hour  for  the  day,  and  twenty  miles  in  ten 
or  twelve  hours  is  more  than  the  average.  A  col- 
umn of  cavalry  would  hardly  move  over  four  miles 
per  hour.  If  the  moving  column  is  a  large  one  the 
regiments  in  advance  may  be  miles  on  the  road  be- 
fore those  in  the  rear  are  in  motion  ;  and  the  fre- 
quent halts  caused  by  crossing  streams,  accidents,  or 
for  the  purpose  of  rest,  are  very  harrassing  to  the 
soldiers  in  the  center  or  at  the  rear  of  the  column. 
The  head  of  the  column  is  the  best  place  to  march. 
The  road  is  clear  for  one  thing,  and  there  are  none 
to  stir  up  the  dust;  and  when  the  order  "Halt" 


2i8  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

comes,  those  in  advance  have  full  benefit,  for  they 

drop  at  once  to  the  ground  and  are  getting  the  rest 
they  all  need  while  the  order  is  running  down  the 
line  ;  and  by  the  time  those  in  the  rear  receive  the 
order  the  head  of  the  column  is  moving  again. 

The  best  Then  those  in  advance  would  be  more  likely  to 
reach  their  bivouac  first,  and  have  their  fires  built 
and  coffee  made  before  the  others,  which  is  a  good 
point ;  but  the  regiment  or  brigade  in  advance  to- 
day may  be  in  the  rear  tomorrow,  so  they  even  the 
thing  up  in  a  way. 

Perhaps  a  good  idea  of  a  column  on  a  march  may 
be  had  by  fancying  a  dozen  miles  of  road  in  our  own 
section  filled  with  an  almost  solid  mass  of  moving 
men,  with  batteries  intermingled  in  the  line,  and 
ambulances,  ammunition  and  baggage  wagons  in 
the  rear,  while  a  cloud  of  cavalry  rides  on  in  ad- 
vance. It  is  easy  to  see  that  the  advance  would 
have  the  best  position  and  the  least  annoyance  on  a 
march. 

As  the  hours  go  by  and  the  soldiers  grow  tired, 
the  men  so  jolly  at  the  start,  sober  down  ;  and  as 
darkness  comes  on  there  is  little  talking  except  to 
growl,  and  wonder  "why  in — thunder  don't  they 
give  us  a  rest?"  and  nothing  is  heard  besides  but 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  219 

the  rattling  of  tin  cups  and  canteens,  and  the  tramp,   

tramp  of  the   weary    thousands.      At   these   times 
there  is  a  deal  of  thinking  done — sober  thinking 
about  home,  its  comforts,  friends,  and  the  like  ;  and    Tired 
the  monotony  is  broken  after  a  while  by  such  ex-  soldiers. 
pressions  as  "Wish  I  was  h-o-m-e."      "Me,  too." 
"Same  here."     "I'm  another,"  etc.    Soon  some  one 
tells  a  story,  or  gets  off  a  stale  joke,  or  strikes  up  a 
song,  and  the  spirits  of  the  men  lighten  up  again. 
Soon  comes  the  welcome  order  "Halt." 

Although  we  were  always  provided  with  cooked 
rations  on  a  march,  still  it  would  happen  sometimes 
that  we  run  short,  and  then  we  tried  our  hands  at 
cooking  a  bit.  Now  hard-tack,  unless  a  fellow  is 
pretty  hungry,  is  mighty  poor  fodder ;  but  we  on  Uses  of 
occasions  would  improve  it  in  cooking.  Various 
dishes  can  be  made  from  the  omnipresent  hard-tack. 
Soaked  in  cold  water  it  becomes  soft  and  puffy  ;  now 
drop  it  into  a  pan  of  hot  bacon  fat  and  fry  a  few 
minutes,  and  tell  me,  if  you  have  been  a  soldier,  is 
it  not  a  dish  fit  for  a  king — if  he  is  a  hungry  one  ? 
Soaking  hard-tack  in  hot  water  would  spoil  it — make 
it  leathery  and  tough.  Then  we  made  a  sort  of 
pudding  of  it,  and  also  the  "slapjack  sublime." 
Sometimes  the  hard-tack  was  wormy  (rare  ex- 


220  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

ception),  but  that  was  no  detriment,  for  then  we  had 

meat  puddings.  The  inhabitants  of  the  hard-tack 
were  curious  creatures — some  had  legs,  some  wings, 
and  some  had  both  ;  and  it  was  very  funny  to  see 
one  try  to  crawl  one  way  with  its  legs  and  fly  the 
other  way  with  its  wings.  Hard-tack  pounded  up 
fine  and  boiled  with  bits  of  bacon,  potato,  or  any- 
thing the  soldier  happened  to  have,  and  salted  a  bit, 
gave  us  a  sort  of  skouse — "slosh"  we  sometimes 
called  it.  Skouse,  like  the  mysterious  hash  of  civil- 

Skouse.    .....  .  ,  .  T     , 

ized  life,  was,  at  times,  rather  uncertain.  1  have 
heard  of  bits  of  pumpkin,  the  wristband  of  a 
soldier's  woolen  shirt,  and  the  heel  of  a  brogan  being 
found  in  a  dish  of  "slosh," — 'twas  not  a  good  season 
for  slosh,  either. 

A  man  who  has  not  been  a  soldier  and  seen  active 

campaigning  does  not  know  what  it  is  to  be  either 

comfortable  or  uncomfortable.     What  comfort  after 

a  hard  day's  march  to  come  to  an   early  halt  in   a 

Soldiers'  clear  field,  fires  soon  built,  coffee  quickly  made,  and 

comfort.  a||  ^ancjs  to  SUpper.      How  soon  the  ground  dries 

off  around  the  bivouac  fire.  What  chatting,  joking, 
laughing  is  going  on — tired  of  course;  but  now 
the  pipes  are  brought  to  the  front — how  the  boys 
did  stick  to  their  pipes,  sorry  looking  ones,  some  of 


2$tk  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  221 


them — and  what  enjoyment  they  get  out  of  the  old 
briar-woods.  Now  as  the  genial  warmth  spreads 
around  and  over  the  whole  circle,  tell  me,  Old 
Comrade,  is  it  not  solid  comfort  ?  Or  again,  in 
camp,  what  though  it  is  cold  and  rainy  outside  ? 
We  have  a  good,  stout  canvas  over  our  heads,  and 
a  comfortable  bunk  to  crawl  into  by  and  by ;  so  let 
it  rain.  We  are  off  duty  to-night.  Poor  fellows, 
walking  your  beats  in  the  wet,  we  pity  you  !  We 
may  be  there  tomorrow,  but  not  now.  Light  the  ^r^t 
candles.  How  cheerful  it  looks !  Around  the  side- 
center-pole  stand  the  rifles  ;  how  their  bright  barrels 
glisten  in  the  mellow  light.  The  little  stove  works 
admirably.  Now  the  pipes,  of  course.  Pass  the 
Killy-kanick  ;  or  Billy  Bow-legs,  is  it  ?  How  the 
smoke  circles  around  the  pole,  filling  the  top  of  the 
old  Sibley  tent.  Here  is  a  comrade  writing  a  letter 
home  ;  another  reading  a  paper,  smoking  the  while  ; 
another  is  doing  a  bit  of  mending ;  and  others  are 
having  a  game — Old  Sledge,  may  be — with  the 
same  old  greasy  cards  that  have  done  duty  for  so 
many  months.  Old  Comrade,  tell  me,  is  not  this 
real  comfort  ? 

The  boxes  and  bundles  from  home  were  always  a 
source  of  great  pleasure  and  comfort  to  the  soldiers. 


222  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

What  lots  of  things   those  boxes  held — clothing, 

eatables,  writing  materials,  thread,  needles  and  such 
little  knicknacks.  When  a  comrade  received  a  box 
from  home  it  was  surely  a  festal  day  in  that  tent. 
All  these  were  comforts  indeed. 

But  there  was  another  side  from  all  this.  What 
could  be  more  uncomfortable  than  a  cold,  cheerless 
bivouac  on  the  frozen  ground,  no  fires  allowed — too 
near  the  enemy — consequently  no  coffee.  We 
munch  the  ever-present  hard-tack  in  shivering' 

Discom- 
fort,    silence,  and  quench  our  thirst  with  cold  water  from 

the  old  canteen.  Sleep  is  impossible,  and  we  move 
about  all  through  the  long,  gloomy  night  to  keep 
from  becoming  immovable  before  morning.  Again, 
Old  Comrade,  is  not  this  in  the  extreme  uncomfort- 
able ? 

It  is  at  first  thought  singular,  perhaps,  but  it  is, 
nevertheless,  true,  that  a  private  soldier  sees  and 
knows  little  of  what  is  going  on  around  him  in  bat- 
tle. If  the  line  is  formed  and  firing  has  commenced  ; 
if  he  is  in  his  place  in  the  ranks  where  it  \s  give  and 
take,  he  can  see  or  know  only  what  is  going  on  in 
his  immediate  vicinity.  He  is  obeying  orders  ;  the 
enemy  are  before  him  ;  he  is  loading  and  firing  his 
rifle  as  he  is  ordered  to  do.  He  hears  the  roar  of 


2$th  RegL,  Mass.  Vols.  223 

artillery,  the  solid  shot  whistle  by,  and  the  shells  go   

screeching  past,  crashing  through  the  trees  if  any 
stand  in  the  way.  Yes,  he  actually  sees  these  come. 
He  hears  bullets  zip,  zip  through  the  air  so  spite- 
ful ;  and  he  also  hears  the  sickly  thud  of  the  ball  as 
it  pierces  the  breast  of  his  near  comrade.  He  sees 
his  companions  as  they  fall  around  him,  and  are 
carried  to  the  rear,  or  lying  at  his  feet,  dying.  He 
sees  the  gaps  made  in  the  lines  by  the  fallen  ones 
closed  up  again.  The  noise  and  confusion  at  such 
times  are  simply  infernal.  Wild  hurrahs  break  upon  Limited 
the  air  as  some  part  of  the  line  is  ordered  to  charge  ; 
but  unless  close  by  he  hardly  knows  what  brigade  military 
it  may  be.  He  hears  at  last,  perhaps,  that  the  mtme~ 

ments. 

enemy  are  falling  back  beaten,  and  that  a  victory  is 
won  ;  and  that  is  about  all  there  is  of  it  to  a  private 
soldier  in  the  ranks.  The  soldier  marches  and 
counter-marches, — why,  except  from  hearsay,  he 
does  not  understand.  Regiments  and  brigades  are 
pushed  about  by  the  commanding  general  like  so 
many  pieces  on  a  chess  board,  and  the  soldiers 
know  as  little  as  the  pawns  of  the  reasons  therefor. 
Truly,  the  private  soldier's  means  of  knowing  about 
these  things  are  rather  limited,  at  best. 
29 


224  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

We  learned  from  prisoners  what  brigades  were 
opposed  to  us,  the  names  of  their  commanders,  etc. 
Thus,  at  Arrowfield  Church,  we  heard  from  pris- 
oners that  Massachusetts  and  South  Carolina  had 
jnet  in  a  fair  combat ;  that  the  Twenty-fifth  Massa- 

Sources  of 

informa-  chusetts  and  the  Twenty-fifth  South  Carolina  had 
on'  come  together  on  the  bloody  field  ;  and  we  knew, 
for  we  had  seen  it,  that  the  sons  of  South  Carolina 
had  been  beaten — scattered  like  withered  leaves. 
So  in  all  engagements,  information  is  gained  from 
prisoners. 

•  Commanding  generals  do  not  usually  consult 
with  privates  in  regard  to  "what  is  to  be  done  and 
how  to  do  it."  Still,  it  is  true,  a  soldier  with  eyes 
and  ears  open,  and  tongue  in  his  mouth,  will  pick 
up  a  great  deal  of  hearsay  information  from  those 
about  him.  But  of  great  military  movements,  or  of 
the  movements  of  any  brigade  save  his  own,  he  can 
know  but  little  till  the  thing  is  done.  It  doubtless 
happens,  sometimes,  that  commanding  officers  drop 
a  few  words  of  information  in  the  presence  of  some 
soldier,  but  of  what  account  is  it  ?  It  is  also  fre- 
quently the  case  that  regimental  officers  themselves 
do  not  know  what  is  to  be  done  ;  they  are  simply 
obeying  orders. 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  225 

We  often  hear  of  men  who  had  rather  go  into  a  

battle  than  "eat  a  good  dinner."  These  men  are 
not  found  in  the  ranks  as  a  rule  ;  and  wherever 
found,  there  is  no  doubt  about  it,  if  the  truth  is  told, 
they  had  rather  "eat  their  dinner,"  and  take  their 
chance  in  a  fight  later  on.  "The  whistling  of  bullets 
was  music  to  his  ears"  is  an  expression  often  used. 
Quite  likely,  this  ;  but  a  deal  depends  on  the  dis- 
tance of  the  bullet  from  the  ears.  If,  in  passing,  it 
chips  off  a  piece  of  the  ear,  somehow  the  music  is 
not  so  pleasant  as  though  the  bullet  was  a  few  rods 
further  off,  and  it  was  a  piece  of  some  other  soldier's 
ear  that  was  taken.  Such  talk  should  be  taken  for 
what  it  is  worth,  which  is  very  little. 

All  men  were  not  equally  good  at  marching.      It 
was  not  the  largest  and  strongest  men  that  marched  Endur_ 
the  best.     Those  of  lighter  build,  wiry,   kinky  fel-    ance. 
lows,  were,  as  a  rule,  the  toughest,  and  showed  the 
most  endurance  in  campaigning. 

Of  the  use  of  whiskey  in  the  army,  I  must  say 
that  in  three  years'  experience  of  soldier  life,  I  do 
not  remember  a  single  instance  (except  in  hospitals 
and  cases  of  sickness)  in  \yhich  it  was  of  the  slight- 
est use  or  benefit  to  the  soldier,  or  where  hot  coffee 
did  not  serve  much  better.  I  have  often  had  the 


226  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

boys  say  to  me,  "Sergeant,  I  wish  I  hadn't  touched 

that  whiskey."      Coffee   was   the    soldier's   friend  ; 
whiskey  was  his  foe. 

It  is  true  that  the  soldier  may  forget  until  recalled 
to  his  mind  the  hardships  of  campaigning — the 
weary  night's  march,  the  terrible  thirst,  the  blister- 
ing feet.  He  may  forget  days  of  suffering  which 
at  the  time  seemed  almost  beyond  endurance ;  but 
the  pleasant — yes,  happy — hours  spent  around  the 
camp  fire,  and  at  the  cheerful  bivouac,  he  never  can 
forget. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

RE-ENLISTING. 


A  FTER  getting  comfortably  settled  in  our  new 


quarters  at  Camp  Upton,  the  boys  entered  into  a 

Camp 
Upton. 


new  industry  for  "off  duty"  hours.    They  made  fre- 


quent visits  to  the  wrecks  of  the  frigates  Congress 
and  Cumberland,  and  obtained  bits  of  copper  and 
wood  from  which  they  made  rings,  pins,  crosses  and 
the  like.  Busy  they  must  be,  and  this  sort  of  busi- 
ness occupied  their  leisure  time  for  days. 

The  month  of  December  passed  quietly    away. 
There  was  enough  to  do,   surely,  with  guard  and 
fatigue  duty,  and  the  regular  daily  drills.      During 
this  month  we  were  reviewed  by  General   Butler.  General 
This  was  his  first  appearance  to  us,  and  we  looked  Butler- 
at  him  with  curious  eyes  as  the  man  of  whom  we 
had  heard  so  much. 


228  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

The  camp  here  was  a  comfortable  one,  close  on 
the  banks  of  the  James  river,  and  our  stay  was  very 
pleasant  for  soldier  life.  January,  1864,  opened 
cold  and  disagreeable  enough,  but  it  mattered  not. 
We  were  in  good  quarters,  and  enjoyed  ourselves 
here. 

Early  in  December  there  had  been  some  talk  of 
re-enlisting.  Government  was  offering  large  boun- 
ties for  old  soldiers  to  re-enlist,  with  a  furlough  of 

Re-enlist- 
ing,    thirty  days,  they  to  be   known   as   "veterans,"   etc. 

All  this  was  quite  tempting,  but  the  idea  did  not 
seem  very  popular  among  us.  Colonel  Pickett  had 
explained  to  the  Regiment  in  his  usual  short,  but 
clear  and  expressive  way,  the  whole  scheme  ;  and 
without  the  slightest  attempt  to  influence  the  men 
in  any  way,  told  them  to  think  the  matter  over 
carefully  and  decide  for  themselves.  This  was  frank, 
Colonel's  open,  square  and  above-board,  and  what  might  be 
attitude.  expectecj  from  Colonel  Pickett.  The  absence  of  the 
Colonel  during  the  re-enlistment  complications  was 
extremely  unfortunate.  His  application  for  leave  of 
absence,  however,  was  based  upon  the  belief  that 
the  Regiment,  being  in  winter  quarters,  would  re- 
main inactive  until  early  spring ;  and  the  re-enlist- 
•  ment  scheme,  to  all  appearances,  having  subsided, 


Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  229 

he  availed  himself  of  the  opportunity  offered  by  the 


1864. 

Commander  of  the  Department,  at  Fortress  Mon- 
roe, of  accompanying  what  was  then  supposed  to  be 
the  last  detachment  of  re-enlisted  men,  to  Massa- 
chusetts for  thirty  days.  He  was  utterly  astonished, 
after  reaching  Worcester,  to  learn  that  the  re-enlist- 
ing fever  had  broken  out  again,  and  that  the  Regi- 
ment was  to  come  home  on  Veteran  furlough. 

Recruits  were  around  among  us  now  who  had 
received  sums  which  seemed  to  the  old  soldiers,  with 
their  hundred  dollars  bounty  and  their  thirteen  dol-  Large 
lars  a  month,  almost  fabulous  ;  and  when  one  man 
proved  to  us  that  he  had  received  over  twelve  hun- 
dred dollars  down,  and  would  receive  his  regular 
soldier's  pay  too,  it  set  us  to  figuring  up  the  thing. 
(These  large  sums  were  paid  by  individuals  who 
were  drafted,  for  substitutes.  The  draft  was  being 
enforced  at  this  time.) 

We  were  receiving  the  large  sum  of  thirteen 
dollars  a  month.  This  for  three  years  would  be 
$468.,  or  adding  the  regular  $100.  always  paid  by 
Government,  $568.  for  three  years  work,  while  this 
fellow  received  more  than  double  that  amount  in 
bounties  for  the  time  he  might  be  wanted,  one  year 
or  two,  as  the  war  might  last.  This  was  very  dis- 


230  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

-  couraging  to  the  old  soldiers,  and  many,  no  doubt, 
thought  more  strongly  of  re-enlisting  to  get  the 
bounty  the  Government  was  offering. 

At  different  times  in  December,  1863,  some  one 
hundred  and  fifty  men  of  the  Regiment  had  re-en- 
listed, and  early  in  January,  1864,  sixty  more.  On 


Depar-  ^g  j-^h  of  this  month  the  first  party  of  re-enlisted 

ture  of  re- 

enlisted  men  left  on  their  thirty  days'  furlough.  These  men 
men.  Were  accompanied  by  Captain  Foster  and  Lieuten- 
ants Daly  and  Upton.  A  few  days  later  over  one 
hundred  more  left,  accompanied  by  Colonel  Pickett, 
Captain  Tucker,  and  Lieutenants  Bessey,  McCarter 
and  Woodworth.  Lieutenant  Woodworth  had  been 
appointed  a  recruiting  officer,  and  had  had  charge 
thus  far  of  the  recruits  in  the  regiment. 

With  the  departure  of  Colonel  Pickett  it  was  sup- 

posed by  at  least  the  private  soldiers,  that  this  re- 

enlisting  business  had  "played  out."     Not  so,  how- 

ever ;  the  vessel  on  which  the  Colonel  sailed  was 

Renewed  hardly  out  of  sight  before  the  talk  of  re-enlisting 

efforts.    Degan  to  increase,  and  the  officers  openly  expressed 

their  wish  to  take  home  the  Twenty-fifth  as  a  vet- 

eran regiment  for  a  thirty  days'  furlough.      To  do 

this,  three-fourths  of  the  duty  men  must  re-enlist. 

One   day   a   printed   order  was   brought   to    the 


2 $th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  231 

Orderly's  tent  by  Sergeant-Major  Charles  B.  Kendall,   

with  the  request  that  it  be  read  to  Company  A. 
Accordingly  the  men  were  ordered  to  "fall  in," 
and  the  Orderly  Sergeant,  Samuel  H.  Putnam, 
read,  as  required,  the  order;  and  "that  no  misunder- 
standing might  occur,"  read  it  carefully  the  second 
time.  The  substance  of  it  was  that  all  men  re-en- 
listing would  receive  the  large  bounty  offered  by 
the  Government  (amount  specified  in  the  order), 
a  thirty  days'  furlough,  and  be  known  as  "veteran 
soldiers."  Those  not  re-enlisting  would  be  "per-  An  as- 
manently  transferred  to  other  organizations  to  serve  toundtns 

order. 

out  their  time  of  enlistment ;  non-commissioned  officers 
to  be  reduced  to  the  ranks"  This  was  plain  English, 
and  fell  like  a  clap  of  thunder  on  the  ears  of  the 
men.  "Drive  us  into  it  like  dogs,  will  they?"  "Con- 
temptible." "Tell  'em  to  go  to  h — 1,  Sergeant !  " 
Such  were  the  exclamations  heard  after  the  reading 
of  the  order.  It  is  unnecessary  to  say  that  the 
Orderly  Sergeant  made  use  of  some  forcible  lan- 
guage when  he  returned  the  order  to  Sergeant- 
Major  Kendall. 

It  has  been  doubted  by  some  that  such  an  out- 
rageous order  ever  could  have  been  issued  to  Union 
soldiers,  though  there  are  plenty  of  men  of  "Old 
30 


232  The  Story  of  Company  A, 

Company  A,"   now  living,  who  heard   it  read  and 

will  take  oath  to  it ;  but  to  satisfy  others,  the  writer 
addressed  a  note  of  inquiry  concerning-  this  order  to 
General  Butler,  as  follows  : 

WORCESTER,  August      ,  1879. 
Gen1  Ben.  F.  Butler, 

Lowell,  Mass. 

Sir  :     I  was  a  member  of  Co.  A,  25th 

Reg.,  Mass.  Vols. ;  and  while  at  Newport  News,  Virginia,  an  order 
was  issued  concerning  the  re-enlistment  of  soldiers,  in  such  terms 
as  these  : — Those  re- enlisting  should  have  the  large  bounties 
offered,  30  days'  furlough,  and  be  known  as  veteran  soldiers. 
Those  not  re-enlisting  should  be  permanently  transferred  to  other 
organizations  to  serve  out  the  balance  of  their  term  of  enlistment ; 
non-com,  officers  to  be  reduced  to  the  ranks.  It  was  my  duty  as 
orderly-sergeant  to  read  this  order  to  my  company.  My  state- 
ment to  this  effect,  however,  has  been  questioned  ;  and  accordingly 
I  wish  to  know  from  you  if  such  an  order  w^as  issued,  and  by  whose 
authority.  This  inquiry  is  made  for  my  own  personal  satisfaction. 

Yours  truly, 

SAMUEL  H.  PUTNAM. 


General  Butler's  reply  is  here  given  : 

General 
Butler's 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  Sept.  4,  1879. 

letter. 

Dear  Sir  : 

I  cannot  positively  state  of  my  own  knowledge 
by  whose  authority  the  order  you  speak  of  as  to  the  re-enlistment 
of  veterans  was  made  ;  but  I  can  say  that  I  knew  that  such  an 
order  was  made,  and  that  it  was  issued  with  due  authority.  If  it 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  233 


was  issued  from  my  headquarters  it  was  only  issued  by  authority    

of  the  War  Department,  and  was  returned  and  never  objected  to    1864. 
by  that  Department.  Yours  truly, 

(Signed}         BENJ.  F.  BUTLER. 
S.  H.  Putnam,  Esq., 
389  Main  St., 
Worcester,  Mass. 

This  letter  is  now  in  possession  of  the  writer. 

This,  it  would  seem,  must  settle  the  question.  But 
the  order,  wherever  it  may  have  originated,  whether 
with  the  War  Department  or  in  the  fertile  brain  of 
Major-General  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  was  mean,  cow- 
ardly and  contemptible ;  and  after  the  departure  of  ature 

the  trans- 

Colonel  Pickett,  Lieutenant  Bessey,  and  those  who  action. 
went  home  on  furlough,  the  manner  in  which  the 
re-enlisting  was  conducted  in  the  Twenty-fifth  Reg- 
iment, was,  if  possible,  still  more  mean,  cowardly 
and  contemptible.*  It  did  seem  as  though  all  in 
authority  had  lost  their  heads.  They  could  hardly 
praise  enough  those  who  would  re-enlist,  neither 
could  they  say  enough  in  censure  of  those  who 
would  not.  Officers  could  be  seen  almost  any  time 
in  the  tents  of  the  men  urging  them  to  put  their 
names  down  ;  men  were  gathered  in  little  groups 
all  over  the  camp  discussing  the  subject ;  still  not 

*  I?  this  strong  language?     I  am  responsible. — S.  H.  P. 


234  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

enough  re-enlisted  to  allow  the  Regiment  to   go 

home  on  furlough. 

Promises  implying  promotion  were  freely  made, 
and  every  inducement  that  could  be  thought  of  was 
used.  Other  subtile  agencies  were  at  work,  and 
under  their  influence  some  acts  were  committed 
that  have  been  a  source  of  regret  ever  since.  The 
climax  was  reached  when  the  Regiment  was  drawn 
up  in  line  and  harangued  by  the  officers,  the  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel leading  off.  He  spoke  of  the  very 
liberal  bounties  offered  by  the  Government  for  re- 
speeches  enlisted  men  ;  of  the  great  benefits  to  be  gained, 
°f  the  with  no  great  risk  ;  of  the  thirty  days'  furlough  ;  and 

officers. 

said  doubtless  the  war  would  soon  be  ended,  and  if 
a  man  should  happen  to  lose  an  arm,  he  could  say 
he  was  a  veteran  soldier  and  lost  it  in  the  service  of 
his  country  !  On  the  other  hand,  he  consoled  those 
who  would  not  re-enlist  by  saying  they  would  be 
sent  to  Yorktown,  which  was  a  very  sickly  place — 
a  perfect  cemetery — and  their  bones  would  bleach 
there  with  those  of  McClellan's  old  mules  !  He  had 
rather  go  into  battle  than  go  to  Yorktown,  and  he 
closed  by  saying,  "All  the  best  men  are  re-enlisting, 
and  there  will  be  nothing  left  but  the  chaff  of  the 
Twenty-fifth  Regiment !  " — a  very  unfortunate  ex- 


2$th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  235 

pression,  and  one  that  is  remembered  to  this  day.   

1864. 
The   Major  followed  in  very  few  words,   advising 

them  .all  to  re-enlist.  Captain  Tom  O'Neil  and 
others  also  spoke,  and  the  men  were  dismissed  to 
their  quarters  to  think  the  matter  over.  All  this 
twaddle  of  speech-making  could  be  brought  out  if 
necessary,  for  there  was  "a  child  among  'em  taking 
notes"  at  the  time  ;  but  it  reads  very  flat  now  to 
anyone  who  was  there. 

The  effect  of  this  order  in  Company  A  was  that 
not  as  many  re-enlisted  as  would  have  done  so 
without  it.  Some  who  had  thought  seriously  of  E/ect  °f 

.     .  111  i  •      the  order. 

doing  so  now  swore  they  would  not  under  any  cir- 
cumstances. The  truth  is,  the  men  of  Company  A 
were  a  hard  lot  to  drive  or  frighten  into  a  measure 
like  this.  Prompt  to  obey,  they  were  just  as  prompt 
to  defend  their  own  rights  (very  few  in  the  army), 
and  to  express  their  opinions  and  stand  by  them. 
It  is  but  justice  to  say  that  in  Company  A  not  the 
slightest  effort  was  made  by  its  officers  to  influence 
the  men  to  re-enlist.  Captain  Goodwin  was  at  this 
time  on  detached  service  in  Massachusetts,  Lieu- 
tenant Bessey  was  absent  on  furlough,  and  Lieu- 
tenant Burr  was  in  command  of  the  Company. 


236  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

"Good  God  !  "  said  one  of  Company  A,  "if  Pickett 
was  here  he'd  stop  this  wretched  tomfoolery,"  and 
he  would  have  done  so  ;  but  Pickett  was  not  there, 
and  the  tomfoolery  went  on.  This  was  all  very 
amusing,  but  in  the  eagerness  of  those  in  command 
to  carry  out  their  scheme  of  taking  home  the  Twen- 
ty-fifth as  a  veteran  regiment,  they  overstepped  the 
bounds  of  justice  and  right. 

Considerable  talk  there  was  of  patriotism  during 

the  re-enlisting   excitement.       Great    inducements 

Was  it  offered — men  re-enlist.      With   no  large  bounties, 

how  many  would  have  re-enlisted  at  this  time  ?    Pa- 

ism  f 

triotism  was  it  ? 

On  the  iQth  of  January  fifty  men,  and  on  the  2Oth, 
two  hundred  men  were  re-enlisted  ;  and  as  the  time 
appointed  for  this  business  had  expired,  those  who 
had  not  re-enlisted  were  ordered  to  start  for  York- 
town  on  the  morrow. 

The  result  of  air  this  was  that  the  Regiment  was 
now  divided  into  two  factions — "Vets"  (veterans) 
and  "Used-to-bes."*  Not  that  there  was  anything 
like  animosity  among  us,  but  there  was  a  sort  of 
feeling;  and  it  was  plain  to  be  seen  ever  after, 

*  "We  want  to  go  home  and  be  citizens  as  we  used  to  be" — hence  the  name. 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  237 

though  orders  were  obeyed  as  before,  that  the  en- 


thusiasm of  the  earlier  days  of  the  Regiment  had 
departed,  never  to  return. 

On  the  2ist  of  January  Companies  A,  G  and  I, 
as  companies,  and  other  members  of  the  Regiment, 
to  the  number  of  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  men, 
left  Camp  Upton  in  heavy  marching  order  for  that 
cemetery,  Yorktown,  under  command  of  Captain 
Parkhurst  and  Lieutenants  Saul  and  Johnson,  the 
latter  formerly  Orderly  Sergeant  of  Company  A 
("Old  Posey").  Doctor  Hoyt  also  accompanied  us. 
As  they  stood  ready  to  march  "I  went  up  and  down  ,.  , 

•*  Yorktown 

the  line  looking  into  the  faces  of  the  men.  Firm  and 
resolute  they  were.  Here  one  in  the  ranks  says : 
'Good-bye,  Bill,'  to  one  in  the  camp  ;  'Good  luck, 
Sam,'  from  one  in  the  camp  to  one  in  the  ranks. 
Shaking  hands  here  and  there, — tearful  eyes  on 
both  sides.  It  was  a  sorry  sight." 

They  were  thinking  men.  They  had  taken  in  the 
situation  at  a  glance,  had  quietly  thought  over  the 
matter,  and  had  decided  they  would  not  re-enlist. 
Many  had  families  at  home,  and  three  years'  ab- 
sence was  enough  for  them.  Were  they  not  right? 
They  had  fulfilled  their  contract  with  the  Govern- 


238  The  Story,  of  Company  A. 

ment  thus  far  to  the  very  letter,  and  would  to  the 

end.  Why  should  they  do  more  ? 

They  could  not  be  bought  or  bribed  with  large 
bounties  and  a  thirty  days'  furlough.  They  could 
not  be  cajoled  by  honeyed  words  in  promise  of 
promotion  or  preferment.  Nor  were  they  fright- 
ened by  the  harsh  words  of  that  contemptible  order 
with  its  "permanently  transferred"  and  "reduced  to 
the  ranks"  threats.  Neither  did  visions  of  that 
dread  cemetery,  Yorktown,  disturb  their  slumbers 
in  the  least. 

Here  were  men  by  scores  who  had  been  in  every 
fight  and  on  every  march  in  which  the  Twenty-fifth 
had  participated  ;  never  known  to  shirk  a  day's  duty 
or  shun  a  day's  work ;  always  ready — now  kicked 
out — the  chaff  of  the  Twenty-fifth  Regiment. 

To  their  credit  be  it  said,  they  always  spoke  well 
of  their  old  comrades,  and  did  their  best  to  uphold 
the  honor  and  name  of  the  Regiment.  Under  the 
blue  jacket  of  the  private  soldier  there  stood  a  man. 

This  matter  of  re-enlisting  was  simply  disgrace- 
ful, and  is  the  one  foul  blot  on  the  otherwise  fair 
escutcheon  of  the  Twenty-fifth  Regiment.  A  man 
can  be  a  man  though  but  a  private  soldier ;  he  can 


2$th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  239 

be  less  than  a  man  though  he  wears  the  badge  of  

office  in  the  United  States  service. 

It  may  be  said,  Why  call  up  these  things  to-day  ? 
"The  story  of  Company  A"  cannot  be  told  without  it. 
"We  should  forgive  and  forget" — how  pretty!  For- 
give is  one  thing,  forget  another ;  the  first  is  easy, 
the  latter  impossible. 

The  order  to  march  was  given,  and  we  left  Camp 
Upton  about  1 1  A.  M.  of  January  2ist,  supposing  we  Onour 
had  seen  the  last  of  it  and  our  old  comrades.  We  cemetery. 
had  expected,  or  rather,  hoped,  that  some  officer  of 
our  own  regiment  would,  man-fashion,  volunteer  to 
go  with  us,  see  what  became  of  us,  and  stay  with  us 
to  the  end.  Here  was  an  opportunity — he  would 
have  been  one  of  the  most  popular  officers  in  the 
Regiment ;  but  he  did  not  come.  We  hear  much  of 
the  love  officers  have  for  their  men.  Was  this  a 
specimen  of  it  ? 

The  day's  march  was  a  pleasant  one  of  ten  or 
•  twelve  miles,  and  we  bivouacked  in  the  early  even- 
ing- near  an  old  church  at  Little  Bethel.      This  old    Little 

•  ...  Bethel. 

church — a  mere  shell  with  nothing  left  inside  but 
the  floor — we  cleaned  out  as  well  as  we  could,  and 
after  supper  candles  were  lighted,  a  violin  found, 
and,  a  dance  started.  And  such  a  dance  !  From 
3* 


240  The  Story  of  Company  A, 

—  the  outside  it  was  a  curious  sight — light  streaming- 
out  of  the  sashless  windows  and  wide  open  doors, 
while  rude  bursts  of  laughter  were  heajd  from  the 
dancers  and  lookers-on.  It  was  a  weird  scene,  and 
rivalled  the  witch  dance  in  Tarn  O'Shanter.  As  the 
fun  waxed  furious  it  was  amusing  to  see  the  guard, 
posted  by  the  Captain  some  time  before,  come 
quietly  into  the  building,  cooly  take  off  equipments, 
set  their  rifles  up  in  a  corner,  and  join  in  the  "all 
hands  round."  This  was  really  not  according  to 
"army  regulations,"  and  might  be  "conduct  preju- 
dicial to  good  order  and  military  discipline";  but 
then,  what  of  it?  Who  were  we,  anyhow?  We 
were  not  supposed  to  belong  to  the  Twenty-fifth 
Regiment — we  had  been  kicked  out  of  that ;  and  we 
knew  nothing  of  any  other.  We  were  a  sort  of 
independent  battalion,  and  we  did  feel  independent. 
So  the  fun  went  on  until  the  candles  burnt  low, 
when  the  dancing  ceased,  and  the  guard  donned 
their  equipments,  shouldered  their  rifles,  and  strode 
out  into  the  darkness  to  their  posts. 

The  next  day  the  march  was  continued  to  York- 
town  over  miles  of  McClellan's  corduroy  roads.  We 
reached  Yorktown,  a  distance  of  about  twelve  miles, 
a  little  before  noon,  and  here  we  halted  till  nearly 


2$th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  241 

6  P.  M.,  when  orders  were  received  to  push  on   to 


_QC    . 

Williamsburg,  some  fifteen  miles  further.  We  saw 
no  reason  for  this  ;  we  could  have  made  the  distance 
instead  of  resting  at  Yorktown  ;  now  it  would  be  an 
all  night's  job.  But  we  supposed  this  to  be  a  part  Severe 
of  the  great  re-enlisting  scheme  to  break  us  down 
— twenty-seven  miles  in  one  day  in  heavy  marching 
order;  and  the  cry  was  raised:  "Now  will  you  re- 
enlist?"  "Oh,  why  did  you  go  for  a  soger?" 

This  march  to  Williamsburg  was  quite  a  severe 
one,  still  there  was  very  little  straggling,  and  about 
T  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  January  23d  we  reached 
our  journey's  end.  We  bivouacked  on  the  ground, 
cold  and  frosty  as  it  was,  and  slept  till  broad  day- 
light. 

We  pitched  our  tents  here,  for  Companies  A,  G 
and  I  had  left  Camp  Upton  as  companies,  and  had 
tents  and  all  company  property  with  them.      Our    camp 
camp  was  known  as  Camp   Hancock,   in  honor  Q{Hancock- 
General  Hancock,  who  had  fought  over  this  ground. 
This  was  near  the  junction  of  Queen's  creek  and 
York  river. 

Lieutenant  Burr  arrived  shortly  after,  and  took 
command  of  Company  A,  acting  as  adjutant.  We 
soon  commenced  doing  picket  duty  just  outside  of 


242  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

Williamsburg.      One  day  about  sixty  men   of  the 

Eleventh  Connecticut  arrived  here,  and  were  located 
near  us  in  shelter  tents.  They  had  not  re-enlisted, 
— what  a  bad  lot  of  fellows  they  must  have  been  ! 
We  wondered  if  they  were  the  chaff  of  the  Eleventh 
Connecticut. 

Camp  Hancock  was  about  two  miles  from  Wil- 
liamsburg, and  nearly  the  same  from  Fort  Magruder, 
which  mounted  twenty  guns  with  a  ditch  around  it. 
The  face  of  the  country  in  this  vicinity  was  dotted 
with  rifle  pits,  ditches,  breastworks,  and  the  like, 
and  was  thickly  strewn  with  fragments  of  arms  and 
equipments,  clothing,  etc.;  and  the  long  lines  of 
Effects  trenches  near  Fort  Magruder,  now  sunken,  where 
of  war.  men  ky  hundrecis  were  buried,  showed  the  terrible 
struggle  the  Union  soldiers  had  in  taking  Williams- 
burg.  It  is  said  they  charged  three  times  before 
the  fort  was  taken,  and  then  it  was  flanked.  At  one 
point  in  this  vicinity  ten  fortifications,  forts,  batteries, 
etc.  were  in  sight. 

The  country  here  was  fairly  wooded  with  cedar, 
walnut,  chincapin,  elm  and  chestnut.  From  the 
river  we  had  oysters,  very  abundant  and  large,  and 
we  went  for  them  strong.  This  country  is  pro- 
nounced very  healthy. 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  243 

Our  second  day  at  Camp  Hancock  we  had  visitors   

1864. 
from  Camp  Upton.     It  appeared  they  had  not  yet 

got  the  three-fourths  necessary  of  the  duty  men  to 
re-enlist,  and  Adjutant  McConville  and  Lieutenant 
Drennan  made  their  appearance.  McConville  had 
not  been  present  during  the  re-enlisting  excitement, 
and  we  were  surprised  to  see  him  here.  They  tried  Re-eniist- 

11  i  •  i  ing  agents 

to  talk  more  re-enlisting  to  us,  but  it  was  no  use  ; 
and  when  (in  accordance  with  their  orders  it  was 
said)  they  desired  Surgeon  Hoyt  to  put  as  many  of 
us  on  the  sick  list  as  possible,  thereby  increasing 
the  proportion  of  duty  men  at  Camp  Upton,  he 
laughed  in  their  faces,  and  said  that  men  who  could 
stand  the  journey  to  Williamsburg  in  heavy  march- 
ing order,  were  not  very  sick  he  guessed.  All  this 
was  very  queer — it  made  Captain  Parkhurst  laugh. 
He  told  the  visitors  they  had  got  into  the  wrong 
pew  ;  so  they  went  back  to  Camp  Upton,  taking  one 
or  two  men  to  re-enlist. 

On  January   2Qth   Major  Mulcahy,  of  the   One- 
hundred-and-thirty-ninth  New  York,  assumed  com- 

3  Officers 

mand.     Our  own  officers  left  a  day  or  two  later ;     leave. 
and  we  were  then  in  a  singular  situation  :  two  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  men  of  one  of  the  best  Massa- 
chusetts regiments  without  an  officer  of  their  own 


244  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

' 

-  to  command  them,  wringing  words  of  praise  from 
the  lips  of  the  strange  officers  who  were  placed  over 
them,  and  loud  in  their  praise  of  the  Commander  of 
their  old  regiment,  and  of  the  men  who  composed 
it.  It  was  a  singular  state  of  affairs. 

February  4th  we  broke  camp  and  marched  to  the 
camp  of  the  One-hundred-and-thirty-ninth  New 
York,  and  being  drawn  up  in  line,  were  counted  off 
in  lots  and  assigned  to  the  different  companies  of 
Assigned,  ^^  regiment-  Some  went  to  their  camp,  and  two 
lots  went  into  Fort  Magruder  with  Companies  F  and 
G  of  that  regiment.  This,  we  thought,  was  the  last 
act  in  that  contemptible  farce  of  re-enlisting. 

The  next  day  at  dress  parade,  Colonel  Roberts 
made  a  short  speech.  Addressing  himself  to  the 
members  of  the  Twenty-fifth,  he  complimented  them 
on  their  soldierly  appearance,  and  said  he  under- 
stood the  Yankee  boys  thought  they  were  perma- 
nently transferred  to  his  regiment,  and  that  the  non- 
commissioned  officers  were  to  be  reduced  to  the 


/erred,  ranks  ;  this  was  a  mistake,  as  they  were  only  tem- 
porarily assigned  to  his  regiment,  and  would  remain 
only  until  the  re-enlisted  men  returned  from  their 
furlough,  when  they  were  to  go  back  to  their  own 
regiment.  As  for  non-commissioned  officers,  he 


2$th  Regt.,  Mass,  Vols.  245 

had  no  authority  to  reduce  them  to  the  ranks — their  

own  regimental  officers  must  do  that.  He  would 
simply  request  them  to  do  duty  with  his  men  in 
their  respective  ranks  until  they  did  return  to  the 
Twenty- fifth. 

This  little  speech  explained  the  whole  matter. 
We  found  in  Colonel  Roberts  a  man.  It  is  fair  to  Colonel 

Roberts' 

presume  that  the  officers  of  the  Twenty-fifth  must  speech. 
have  known  as  much  about  the  re-enlisting  as*  did 
Colonel  Roberts,  but  concealed  it  from  the  men, 
and  set  up  a  scarecrow  in  the  re-enlisting  farce. 
The  speech  of  Colonel  Roberts  was  received  with  a 
round  of  cheers  by  the  men  of  the  Twenty-fifth,  in 
which  the  New  York  regiment  joined,  and  for  some 
minutes  the  Colonel  could  not  be  heard.  He  then 
stated  that  a  raid  was  to  be  undertaken  on  the 
morrow  in  which  his  regiment  was  to  join,  and  all 
must  expect  a  severe  march.  To  the  Twenty-fifth 
Regiment  he  had  nothing  to  say ;  they  knew  their 
duty  and  would  do  it  he  was  assured,  though  with- 
out a  single  officer  of  their  own.  Parade  was  then 
dismissed. 

Early  morning  of  February  6th  found  us  in  line, 
and  we  marched  into  Williamsburg.  When  the 
column  was  formed  it  comprised  the  One-hundred- 


246  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

and-thirty-ninth    and   One-hundred-and-eighteenth 

New  York,  two  regiments  of  colored  troops,  and  I 
believe  but  a  single  battery,  all  under  command  of 
General  Wistar.  We  heard  that  a  regiment  of  cav- 
alry was  to  follow  us.  As  we  marched  through  the 
town  it  was  plain  to  be  seen  that  it  had  suffered 
from  the  effects  of  the  war ;  few  inhabitants  were 
left ;  many  houses  deserted  and  many  burned. 

Williams  J  J 

burg.  William  and  Mary  College,  one  of  the  oldest  in 
America,  had  also  been  destroyed  by  Union  soldiers 
in  revenge,  it  was  said,  for  having  been  fired  on 
from  its  windows.  Though  the  walls  were  mostly 
standing,  it  was  completely  ruined.  Williamsburg 
was  a  still,  sunny  old  place,  with  one  principal  street, 
and  our  boys,  when  we  left  this  section,  had  learned 
to  love  the  old  town  for  the  air  of  peace  and  quiet- 
ness that  seemed  to  hang  over  it. 

About  a  mile  beyond  the  town  we  entered  the 
forest,  when  skirmishers,  or  rather,  flankers,  were 
thrown  out,  and  the  column  moved  on  at  a  good, 
smart  pace  till  noon,  when  a  halt  was  made  to  let 
the  cavalry  pass,  of  which  there  must  have  been  a 
regiment,  say  twelve  or  fifteen  hundred  men.  From 
this  time  the  march  was  quite  severe,  and  began  to 
tell  on  the  New  Yorkers.  We  of  the  Twenty-fifth 


2 $th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  247 

however,  were  used  to  this  sort  of  business,  and  

-~:>  1864. 

worried  but  little  over  it.     At  every  halt  our  boys 

would  drop  to  the  ground  and  get  all  the  rest  there 
was  to  be  had,  and  move  on  at  the  word  of  command. 
Major  Mulcahy  hardly  knew  how  to  take  us ;  he 
endeavored  to  keep  us  on  our  feet,  but  it  was  no  go. 
He  talked  loud  and  scolded  some.  Colonel  Roberts, 
riding  up,  asked  him  the  cause  of  the  trouble : 
"Why,  you  see,  Colonel,  at  every  halt  these  men  Major 
simultaneously  sit  down."  This  expression  brought  ucay- 
out  a  roar  of  laughter  from  the  Twenty-fifth  boys, 
in  which  Colonel  Roberts  joined.  The  Major  dis- 
appeared. 

Fcr  miles  after  this  the  soldiers  tramped  on  in 
perfect  good  humor.  Most  of  the  A  boys  instead 
of  loading  down  with  rations  for  three  days,  figured 
it  thus:  four  hard-tack  for  breakfast  (with  coffee),  Rations. 
six  hard-tack  for  dinner  (with  salt  horse),  four  hard- 
tack for  supper  (with  coffee  again) — forty-two  hard- 
tack, all  told,  for  three  days,  which  with  coffee  and 
meat,  was  ample,  and  gave  us  a  light  load  to  carry. 
We  marched  rapidly,  reaching  New  Kent,  about 
thirty  miles,  near  midnight ;  and  after  coffee,  and  a 
rest  of  three  hours,  were  on  the  road  again.  About 
noon  we  reached  Baltimore  Cross  Roads ;  here 
32 


248  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

several  roads  intersect,  one  going  direct  to  Rich- 
mond, crossing  the  Chickahominy  at  Bottom's 
bridge,  only  two  or  three  miles  distant ;  others  to 
White  House  and  Charles  City. 

We  struck  the  Chickahominy  river  at   Bottom's 

bridge,  but  the  enemy  were  found  there   in   force, 

Bottoms  and  the  bridge  had  been  destroyed  ;  so  excepting  a 

bridge,   little  desultory  firing,  with  six  or  eight  killed  and 

wounded,  nothing  was  done,   and  we  returned  to 

Williamsburg,  bivouacking  one  night  near  what  was 

called  the  "Twelve    Mile    Ordinary,"    where    once 

was  a  tavern. 

After  near  three  days'  absence,  not  a  man  of  the 
Twenty-fifth  was  found  straggling ;  but  the  New 
Yorkers  kept  coming  in  for  twenty-four  hours  after. 
We  had  marched  from  fifty  to  sixty  miles.  Be- 

No 

stragglers  ^ore  we  Dr°ke  ranks  Colonel  Roberts  again  spoke 
to  his  soldiers.  He  called  attention  to  the  fact  that 
while  his  men  were  picked  up  straggling  in  such 
numbers,  not  one  of  the  Twenty-fifth  was  so  found. 
He  also  called  the  attention  of  officers  as  well  as 
men  to  the  discipline  and  behavior  of  those  who, 
without  an  officer  of  their  own,  could  go  on  a  severe 
march  without  a  straggler,  and  return  in  better  con- 
dition than  his  own  regiment.  The  truth  is,  the 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  249 

Twenty-fifth  boys  were  right  on  their  "proud,"  and   

1864* 
kept  up  their  dignity  and  self-respect,  and  after  all 

had  at  heart  the  honor  and  good  name  of  their  old 
regiment. 

The  object  of  the  expedition  seems  to  have  been 
to  make  a  stand  at  Bottom's  bridge  while  the  cav- 
alry made  a  dash  at  Richmond,  liberating  prisoners, 
and  burning  the  city  if  possible  ;  but,  as  we  have 
seen,  it  was  a  failure. 

Our  picket  line  extended  from  the  York  to  the 
James  rivers,  about  four  miles  ;  and  with  gunboats 
on  either  flank,  was  a  strong  one.  After  our  raid, 
prisoners  escaped  from  Richmond  came  in  often,  in 
squads  of  from  four  to  six  men  ;  and  on  the  23d 
of  February,  five  officers  came  in  and  reported  no 
enemy  between  us  and  Bottom's  bridge.  A  squad 
from  Longstreet's  corps  came  in  and  surrendered 
themselves  at  another  time. 

One  of  the  picket  posts  in  Williamsburg  was  at 
the  old  brick  house  once  occupied  by  Governor 
Page  of  Virginia.  It  was  built  of  brick  imported 
from  England.  The  library  in  this  mansion  was  a 
room  about  eighteen  by  twenty  feet,  and  the  walls 
had  been  covered  with  books  from  floor  to  ceiling  ; 
but  now  the  shelving  had  been  torn  down,  and  the 


250  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

floor  was    piled   with    books   in  wretched  disorder 


1864. 

— trampled  on — most  pitiful  to  see.      In  the  attic 

of  this  old  house  the  boys  found  trunks  and 
boxes  of  papers  of  a  century  past — documents, 
letters,  etc.  Among  the  latter  were  those  bearing 
the  signatures  of  such  men  as  Jefferson,  Madison, 
Richard  Henry  Lee  ;  and  one  or  more  signed  by 
Washington. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  February  igth  orders 
came  for  the  One-hundred-and-thirty-ninth  to  pre- 
pare for  a  march  at  7  A.  M.,  with  three  days'  rations. 
They  were  sent  to  Newport  News,  and  we  were  now 
more  alone.  The  Twenty-fifth  boys  in  Fort  Magruder 
alone.  were  relieve(J  by  a  company  of  heavy  artillery,  and 
marched  to  the  old  camp  of  the  New  York  regiment, 
and  we  were  all  together  once  more.  Two  lieuten- 
ants from  the  One-hundred-and-forty-eighth  New 
York,  whose  names  I  have  forgotten,  assumed  com- 
mand of  the  Twenty-fifth  men  here  at  this  camp, 
which  was  known  as  Camp  West ;  and  we  were 
divided  into  three  companies,  thus  :  Company  A, 
Sergeant  Putnam ;  Company  G,  Sergeant  Lee ; 
Company  I,  Sergeant  Moulton  ;  and  with  the  two 
lieutenants  in  command  we  were  in  good  shape. 
Camp  West  (named  for  Colonel  West  who  was  in 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  251 

command  here)  was  very  comfortable.      The  men 

1864. 
had  wooden  shanties,  while  the  officers'  quarters 

were  very  pretty  cottages  made  of  upright  Jogs,  one 
story  high,  most  of  them,  and  very  neatly  fashioned. 

We  had  not  drawn  clothing  for  some  time,  and 
when  we  left  Camp  Upton  many  of  the  men  wanted 
jackets,  shoes,  and  other  articles  ;  and  the  hard  ser- 
vice since  leaving  that  camp  had  put  us  in  bad  shape. 
In  some  cases  men  going  on  duty  would  have  to  siate  of 
take  the  shoes  and  jackets  of  those  who  came  off',anefarmSm 
and  thus  keep  things  moving.  The  New  York  offi- 
cers were,  naturally,  unwilling  to  be  responsible  for 
clothing  issued  to  our  men  ;  and  non-commissioned 
officers  being  of  no  account,  or  rather,  in  a  military 
sense,  not  responsible  parties,  of  course  we  could 
not  get  clothing,  and  had  to  resort  to  such  means 
as  have  been  mentioned. 

"I  one  day  found  some  old  shoes  in  a  refuse  heap, 
and  gave  them  to  one  of  Company  A  (Gus  Stone, 
I  think)  who  seemed  glad  enough  to  get  them." 
Our  arms  were  beginning  to  need  repairs,  but 
nothing  could  be  done  in  that  respect ;  still  they 
were  always  clean  and  bright,  and  at  the  drills  we 
had  we  received  the  highest  praise  from  the  New 
York  officers. 


252  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

Towards  the  close  of  February  an  officer  from 
1864. 

General  Butler's  headquarters  came,  as  he  said,  to 

inspect  the  Twenty-fifth  Massachusetts  Regiment ; 
and  when  the  men  were  drawn  up  in  companies, 
and  for  his  benefit  put  through  the  manual,  he  ex- 
pressed great  surprise,  and  pronounced  them  the 
best  drilled  regiment  in  the  Department.  When 
told  that  these  men  were  simply  the  "chaff"  of  the 
Twenty-fifth  Regiment,  and  had  been  kicked  out  of 
it  because  they  would  not  re-enlist,  his  anger  knew 
no  bounds.  "What  is  all  this?  No  officers  of  your 
own?  and  on  that  raid  to  Bottom's  bridge?  Why 

Comment 

Of  the  this  is  outrageous — contemptible.  I'll  report  this 
inspector.^  headquarters."  Such  was  his  language  (I  regret 
I  have  not  this  officer's  name);  and  when  each  com- 
pany, as  inspected,  was  marched  away  at  his  desire 
under  command  of  a  "non-com,"  who  put  the  men 
through  the  evolutions,  as  wheeling,  etc.,  he  de- 
clared he  never  inspected  a  better  drilled  lot  of  men. 
Very  good  for  the  chaff — what  must  the  better  part 
of  the  Regiment  have  been  ? 

The  inspector  also  said  that  officers  who  would 
use  men  this  way  deserved  to  be  cashiered,  while 
every  non-commissioned  officer  on  the  ground  was 
worthy  a  commission.  This  is  not  exaggerated  a 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  253 

particle.     It  was  written  down  at  the  time,  and  is   

still  legible,  though  in  pencil.  It  was  a  strange 
spectacle — men  so  well  drilled  yet  so  ragged  ;  still 
there  was  no  complaint,  and  the  men  went  to  their 
duty  cheerfully,  and  began  to  look  at  the  whole 
affair  as  a  huge  joke. 

While  at  Camp  West  the  Twenty-fifth  went  on 
several  short  raids,  bringing  in  families,  horses,  etc. 
One  morning  more  men  were  found  in  line  ready 
for  the  march  than  were  reported  fit  for  duty  the 
day  before  ;  and  the  New  York  officers  on  inquiry  Pluck. 
were  told  that  the  Twenty-fifth  had  no  sick  ones  at 
such  times.  They  said :  "Well,  we  don't  under- 
stand you  Yankee  soldiers." 

March  2d  we  were  relieved  by  the  Eleventh 
Connecticut,  and  on  the  3d  left  Camp  West  and 
started  for  Newport  News,  reaching-  Yorktown  in  „ 

Newport 

the   afternoon,   and   finally    halting    some    distance    News. 
beyond.     The  next  day  we  reached  Newport  News 
in  the  afternoon. 

While  at  Camp  West  we  of  course  made  the  best 
of  the  situation,  and  an  incident  I  remember  as  very 
amusing  at  the  time,  was  this :  Sergeant  Wesson 
("Rats")  with  Corporal  George  R.  Brown  occupied 
a  small  house  together.  Now  when  we  first  arrived 


254  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

at  Camp  West,  "Rats"  noticed  a  number  of  fowls 

running  around  here,  probably  left  by  the  New 
York  regiment ;  and  after  a  deal  of  pains,  managed 
to  catch  them  all — three  or  four.  "One  day  I  was 
surprised  with  an  invitation  to  dine  with  Wesson. 
The  word  sounded  strangely,  but  at  the  proper 
hour  I  made  my  appearance  at  Sergeant  Wesson's 
cabin,  and  was  met  with  his  'Hallo,  Sergeant,  have 
a  seat.'  A  small  table  was  in  the  center  of  the 
floor,  on  which  were  tin  plates,  cups,  knives,  forks 

A  dinner. 

and  spoons,  with  soft  bread  and  a  covered  dish. 
The  cabin  was  filled  with  an  odor  extremely  pleas- 
ant to  a  hungry  man.  What  could  it  be  ?  Hog  I 
knew,  salt  horse  I  knew,  and  stewed  beans  in  the 
old  black  camp  kettle  I  knew ;  but  what  was  this 
savory  smell  that  took  me  back  to  the  days  when 
we  lived  in  'God's  country,'*  and  occasionally  dined? 
Can  it  be  ?  It  was — chicken  Jricasseed ;  and  we 
dined.  Soldiers  sometimes  do  get  a  sort  of  civilized 
meal." 

The  country  around  Williamsburg  is  cut  up  by 
many  ravines,  and  on  one  running  from  the  York 

*  A  common  expression  in  the  army  for  home.     Also  called  "The  land  of 
biled  shirts." 


2 '5tk  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  255 

to  the  James  river,  Fort  Magruder  was  built,  named   

1864* 
for  the  Rebel  general  who  erected  it. 

We  were  received  with  much  surprise  by  those  of 
the  Twenty-fifth  who  had  returned  from  furlough, 
and  though  they  seemed  glad  to  see  us,  they  had 
hardly  expected  it.     Colonel  Pickett  returned  with  Return 
the  re-enlisted  men,  and  the  Regiment  was  again    to  the 
reunited  under  his  command.     During  his  absence    egim 
he  had  been  kept  in  profound  ignorance  of  the  un- 
fair and  reprehensible  methods  resorted  to  for  the 
purpose  of  reopening  the   re-enlistment   question. 
But  when  all  the  facts  came  to  his  knowledge,  he 
expressed  in  the  strongest  terms  his  condemnation, 
not  only  of  the  unjustifiable  measures  used  by  the 
officers  left  in  charge  of  the  Regiment  to  induce  the 
men  to   re-enlist,  but  of  the  outrageous  usage  of 
those  who  for  their  own  good  reasons  declined  to 
do  so. 

March  22d  a  severe  storm  set  in,  and  snow  lay 
six  inches  deep  in  camp — rather  rough  for  canvas 
walls.  On  the  26th,  about  9  A.  M.,  we  left  Newport 
News  for  Portsmouth,  and  in  the  afternoon  a  steamer 
arrived  bringing  all  the  re-enlisted  men.  So  Com- 
pany A  was  all  together  once  more,  and  again  there 
was  a  Twenty-fifth  Regiment. 
33 


256  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

There  were  many  recruits  brought  out  at  this 
time,  and  the  Regiment  must  have  numbered  eight 
hundred  men.  We  had  been  absent  from  the  Regi- 
ment about  two  months.  On  the  2yth  of  March 
we  went  into  camp  at  Getty's  Station,  which  was 
known  as  Camp  Wellington,  in  honor  of  T.  W. 
Wellington,  one  of  Worcester's  most  patriotic  citi- 
zens. 

While  in  the  neighborhood  of  Getty's  Station  we 
once  passed  a  large  tent  on  which  was  painted  in 
Bodies  £^a™n£    letters,    "Bodies    Embalmed,"    suggesting 
embalmed  pleasant  thoughts  to  the  soldier.      "WThat  do  you 
think  of  that,  fellows?"  said  one.    "How  would  you 
like  to  be  embalmed  and  go  home  on  a  furlough?" 
asked   another.       "What   do    you    suppose    'tis?" 
"Well,  I  reckon  it's  some  kind  of  a  pickle"  said  an- 
other— careless  talk  of  thoughtless  soldiers. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

THE  BATTLE  SUMMER. 

pAMP  WELLINGTON  was  on  the  railroad  lead 

gg 

ing  to  Suffolk,  and  but  a  few  miles  from  Ports- 
mouth. The  tents  were  nicely  pitched  when  one 
day  a  heavy  rain  came  on,  and  most  of  those  be- 
longing to  Company  A  were  completely  flooded 
out. 

April  1 2th,  at  midnight,  Companies  A  and  D  had 
orders  to  fall  in,  light  marching  order,  and  twenty 
extra  rounds.  In  a  few  minutes  Company  A  was 
in  line.  The  Colonel  riding  up,  it  being  quite  dark, 
asked,  "What  company  is  that?"  ''Company  A, 
sir"  said  the  Orderly.  "Just  what  I  thought"  was 
the  response.  "He  knows  Old  Company  A,  don't 
he?"  whispered  one  in  the  ranks.  Company  D 
soon  joined  us,  and  we  marched  to  the  station  and 
took  the  cars.  We  reached  a  place  called  Magnolia 


258  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

Station,  where  we  bivouacked.     The  next  morning 

we  marched  to  Suffolk  and  halted  for  the  rest  of  the 
day  and  again  bivouacked.  On  the  i4th,  after 
marching  six  or  eight  miles  beyond  Suffolk  and 
finding  bridges  destroyed,  without  even  a  skirmish 
we  returned  to  Camp  Wellington,  reaching  there  on 
A  raid.  ^e  mormn§'  of  the  1 5th.  The  whole  affair  was,  it 
seems,  a  hunt  for  guerrillas,  in  which  the  other  wing 
of  the  Regiment  took  part,  going  by  boat  to  Smith- 
field  ;  but  the  expedition  was  no  great  success. 

Camp  Wellington  was  not  on  the  best  ground 
that  could  be  chosen,  and  Company  A  moved  to 
the  rear  where  the  land  was  higher.  "One  night 
— 'twas  long  after  taps — we  heard  water  running  in 
our  tent,  and  on  getting  up  to  see  what  the  trouble 
was,  found  ourselves  ankle-deep  in  cold  water. 
Here  was  a  go.  Striking  a  light,  we  found  the 
water  running  through  the  tent.  What  could  we 
do?  One  Sergeant  sat  on  his  bunk  wringing  the 
A  shower.  wa^er  ou^  of  n}s  jacket ;  another  on  a  cracker  box 
was  fishing  up  shoes  and  stockings  from  the  deep  ; 
while  'Rats'  Wesson  sat  on  a  three-legged  stool  and 
sung  'I  feel  like  one  forsaken.'  It  was  an  uncom- 
fortable 'incident,'  but  comical.  For  two  hours  the 
rain  poured,  and  then  suddenly  ceased.  'Rats' 


Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  259 

procured  a  shovel,  dug  a  deep  hole  in  the  center  of  

1864* 
the  tent  into  which  the  water  ran,  and  then  bailed 

out  the  hole  !  " 

The  weather  during  our  stay  at  Camp  Welling- 
ton was,  much  of  it,  wet  and  disagreeable  ;  but  the 
boys  took  advantage  of  the  pleasant  days  to  cut 
slats  in  the  woods  for  stockades  on  which  to  raise 
our  tents.  Dave  Bigelow  and  one  man  cut  two 
hundred  and  fifty  in  one  day. 

.  We  had  heard  that  Plymouth,  N.  C.,  was  sur- 
rounded by  the  Rebels,  and  that  General  Wessells 
was  besieged  there.  We  were  ordered  to  his  as- 
sistance, and  on  the  22d  of  April  embarked  for 
North  Carolina  on  board  a  steamer — a  double- 
ender — and  soon  entered  the  Dismal  Swamp  canal. 
This  was  in  part  a  natural  stream  and  partly  artifi-  Great 

Dismal 

cial,  and  did  not  admit  of  very  large  craft;  was  swamp. 
narrow,  of  no  great  depth,  and  very  crooked.  It 
afforded  a  short  cut  from  the  James  river  to  Albe- 
marle  sound,  saving  an  outside  passage  around 
Cape  Hatteras.  The  steamer  was  provided  with 
iron  plates  that  could  be  put  into  position  on  the 
sides,  affording  quite  a  protection  from  rifle  shots. 
The  Dismal  Swamp  had  been  infested  by  Rebels 
who  had  kept  up  a  sort  of  guerrilla  warfare,  firing 


260  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

into  boats,  and  indeed  capturing  one,  so  they  went 

1864. 

armored.  . 

It  was  bright  moonlight  as  we  entered  the  canal, 
and  we  were  at  once  in  the  forest,  for  this  swamp 
covers  an  immense  tract  of  country  and  is  one  vast 
wilderness,  having  in  its  center  a  large  sheet  of 
water  called  Lake  Drummond.  In  many  places  the 
stream  was  so  narrow  that  the  trees  swept  both 
sides  of  the  boat,  and  the  turns  were  so  short  that 
we  were  constantly  getting  aground.  The  scene  as 

Great  we  movec^  on  was  one  °f  singular  wildness  and 
Dismal  beauty.  Many  of  the  trees  were  draped  with  long 
xm^'  streamers  of  gray  moss  which  waved  gently  in  the 
night  air ;  and  the  boat  moving  now  in  shadow,  now 
in  bright  moonlight,  gave  a  weird  effect  to  the  whole 
scene,  making  it  very  fascinating.  We  passed  a 
landing  where  our  old  friends,  the  One-hundred- 
and-thirty-ninth  New  York,  were  stationed,  and 
right  glad  were  we  to  see  them — a  pleasant  surprise 
for  both  parties.  It  was  not  until  the  morning  of 
the  24th  that  we  entered  Currituck  sound,  reach- 
ing Roanoke  Island  about  noon  of  the  same  day. 

We  here  heard  of  the  capture  of  Plymouth  by  the 
Rebels,  so  our  services  were  not  needed,  and  the 
Regiment  was  ordered  back  to  Getty's  Station, 


25th  Regt.,  Mass,  Vols.  261 

Company  A  being  left  on  the   Island.      We  found   

Roanoke  as  we  had  left  it,  except  that  there  were 
more  darky  settlers. 

After  a  stay  of  three  days  the  Company  was  or- 
dered back  to  Getty's  Station  the  same  way  we  came  ; 
and  leaving  the  Island  on  the  morning  of  the  27th 
of  April,  reached  our  old  camp  at  midnight  of 
that  day,  finding  it  deserted,  the  Regiment  having 
been  ordered  to  that  cemetery,  Yorktown.  We 
occupied  the  abandoned  camp  that  night,  and  next 
day  went  to  Portsmouth  where  all  company  prop- 
erty was  stored.  We  left  here  our  knapsacks  and 
woolen  blankets,  leaving  us  with  only  our  rubber 
blankets  and  the  clothes  we  had  on — no  more. 
From  Portsmouth  we  went  to  Norfolk  and  took  a 
steamer  for  Yorktown,  arriving  at  evening  of  the 
same  day,  and  the  Regiment  was  again  all  together. 

Our  temporary  camp  of  shelter  tents  was  on  the 
York  river,  some  forty  or  fifty  feet  above  the  water. 
It  would   seem  to  be  a   classic    neighborhood    for   classic 
Americans   here.        We,   the   "Used-to-bes,"     had  grt 
tramped  over  the  fields  where  the  British  laid  down 
their  arms  in  the  Revolution  ;  we  had  traced  out  the 
lines  of  earthworks  of  the  contending  armies  of  that 
day ;  but  of  Yorktown  little  can  be  said :  a  very  few 


262  TJie  Story  of  Company  A. 

old  buildings — and  it  is  doubtful  if  a  house  has  been 

built  there  in  the  last  hundred  years.  The  building 
occupied  by  Cornwallis  was  pointed  out,  but  private 
soldiers  did  not  have  much  time  to  attend  to  such 
matters. 

Heckman  here  assumed  command  of  his  brigade. 

o 

It  consisted  of  the  Twenty-third,  Twenty-fifth  and 
Twenty-seventh  Massachusetts,  and  the  Ninth  New 
Jersey.  Here  the  whole  corps  was  reviewed  by 
General  Butler. 

We  were  in  the  First  Brigade,  Second  Division 
of  the  Eighteenth  Army  Corps,  General  W.  F. 
("Baldy")  Smith.  The  Tenth  and  Eighteenth 
Corps  formed  the  Army  of  the  James,  commanded 
by  General  Butler. 

Our  brigade,  early  one  warm  May  morning,  was 
marched  towards  Williamsburg  a  few  miles,  the 
To  Twenty-seventh  in  advance.  The  roads  were  heavy 
dust,  and  we  "Used-to-bes"  chuckled  some  to 
think  the  whole  Regiment  had  been  ordered  to 
visit  that  cemetery,  Yorktown,  and  was  now  march- 
ing over  the  same  old  dusty  road  we  had  tramped 
a  few  weeks  before.  We  came  to  a  halt  about  mid- 
day, and  at  2  p.  M.  commenced  our  return  march, 
the  Ninth  New  Jersey  leading  off;  and  we  reached 


V 


\ 


MAP 

OF 

BERMUDA  HUNDREDS 

AND  VICINITY. 


N 


• 


N 
\ 

\ 

Varina       \ 
Aiken's  Landm 


2 5th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  263 

our  camp  pretty  well  tired  out.      It  seems  that  all   

1864. 
this  marching  was  but  a  feint,  for  on  the  4th  of  May 

we  went  on  board  transports  with  three  days'  rations, 
and  steaming  down  the  York  river,  at  5  p.  M.  an- 
chored at  Fortress  Monroe. 

Sunrise  of  May  5th  we  were  on  the  move  again, 
gunboats  in  advance,  headed  up  the  James  river. 
The  day  was  clear  and  bright,  and  the  long  line  of 
steamers  crowded  with  men,  stretching  for  miles  on 
this  beautiful  river,  reminded  us  forcibly  of  our  ad- 
vance on  Roanoke  Island,  and  of  our  departure  from 
Annapolis. 

We  noticed  squads  of  Negroes  running  along  the 
banks  of  the  river,  with  little  bundles  in  their  hands, 

Up  the 

making  all  sorts  of  gestures  to  us  as  if  they  would  river_ 
like  to  be  taken  aboard — slaves  evidently  seeking  a 
chance  to  escape.  We  passed  the  ruins  of  James- 
town and  Harrison's  landing  on  our  right,  Fort 
Powhatan  on  our  left,  and  at  5  p.  M.  reached  City 
Point,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Appomatox  river.  We 
here  found  our  old  friend,  the  steamer  New  York, 
now  a  flag  of  truce  boat,  making  trips  to  Richmond 
occasionally.  We  moved  still  further  up  the  river 
and  arrived  at  Bermuda  Hundred.  The  troops 
landed  in  a  very  short  time,  and  our  brigade  was 

34 


264  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

soon  in  line,  and  climbing  the  steep  banks  marched 

through  cultivated  lands,  and  finally  bivouacked  in 
a  field  of  clover.  The  night  passed  quietly  away, 
not  a  shot  being  fired. 

On  the  morning  of  the  6th  we  were  again  in  line, 
the  Twenty-seventh  men  in  advance,   the  Twenty- 
fifth  following.     We  marched  through  woods  of  oak 
Cobi?s    and  pine,  crossed  several  small  creeks,  and  reached 
HilL    a  considerable  hill,  up  which  we  moved  slowly  and 
cautiously,  and  on  reaching  its  summit  about  noon, 
took  possession  of  "Cobb's  Hill"  without  the  firing 
of  a  gun. 

The  view  from  Cobb's  Hill  was  a  fine  one,  and 
very  extensive.  Looking  to  the  southwest  the 
Appomatox  came  flowing  towards  us,  and  on  its 
banks  stood  the  Rebel  fort,  Clifton  ;  beyond,  and 
perhaps  eight  or  ten  miles  distant,  were  the  spires 
of  Petersburg.  The  whole  country  around  lay 
spread  out  like  a  carpet  at  our  feet,  and  the  scene 
would  have  been  anything  but  warlike  had  it  not 
been  for  the  tramp  of  soldiers  and  the  rumble  of 
artillery,  which  continued  for  hours  as  the  troops 
hurried  by  pur  bivouac.  These  were  the  Tenth  and 
Eighteenth  Corps  which  composed  the  Army  of  the 
James. 


noissance. 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  265 

Cobb's  Hill  is  about  eighteen   miles  from  Rich-   

-     1864. 
mond.    It  was  said  that  Petersburg  could  have  been 

taken  at  this  time  if  our  troops  had  been  pushed 
ahead  at  once,  as  there  were  few  Rebel  troops  in 
the  town.  It  is  easy  to  tell  what  "might  have  been"; 
but  it  was  not  known  then  how  many  troops  were 
there  and  if  an  error  was  made  it  was  on  the  safe 
side,  and  the  capture  "was  not  to  be." 

About  4  P.  M.  we  were  ordered  to  fall  in,  and  our 
brigade,  General  Heckman  in  command,  with  two 
pieces  of  artillery,  started  out  on  a  reconnoissance.  A 
We  marched  down  the  hill  and  through  woody 
swamps  and  fields,  a  distance  of  three  or  four  miles, 
when  we  heard  shots  fired  in  advance  which  denoted 
that  we  had  found  the  enemy.  We  soon  entered  a 
large  field  and  formed  in  close  column  by  division ; 
some  distance  ahead  was  a  rail  fence,  and  beyond  a 
railroad,  behind  the  banks  of  which  was  the  enemy 
we  sought.  Company  A  was  sent  to  the  right  to 
act  as  flankers,  and  entering  a  wood  on  rising 
ground  and  coming  to  a  halt,  we  witnessed  with 
intense  interest  the  movements  going  on  so  near. 

We  saw  our  boys  advance  with  skirmish  line 
thrown  out.  The  Rebels  also  sent  out  their  line  of 
skirmishers,  and  both  advanced  until  it  seemed,  from 


266  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

our  position,  that  the  two  lines  were  not  more  than 

1864. 

five  rods  apart,  and  not  a  shot  was  fired  by  either. 

Meantime  our  artillery  had  opened  on  the  enemy, 
and  we  could  see  every  shot  strike  the  embankment, 
— see  the  dirt  fly,  rails  scatter,  and  the  forms  of  men 
moving  about.  Soon  the  skirmishers  were  with- 
drawn, and  the  Rebels  fired  a  volley  into  our  boys, 
wounding  some  as  we  saw.  The  Twenty-seventh 
opened  fire,  the  Twenty-fifth  being  held  in  reserve. 
The  Ninth  New  Jersey  changed  their  position  on 
Port  the  field,  receiving  a  hot  fire  from  the  enemy  which 
Waithai  ^  Soon  returned.  We  saw  General  Heckman's 

Junction. 

horse  throw  up  his  head  and  sink  down  to  the 
ground,  dismounting  his  rider,  but  the  General  took 
the  horse  of  one  of  his  aides,  and  quietly  mounted 
again.  We  heard  his  orders  given,  and  also  those 
of  the  Rebel  commander. 

We  expected  to  see  our  boys  charge  and  drive 
the  enemy  from  their  position,  but  they  began  slowly 
to  retire  ;  and  about  7  p.  M.  we  received  orders  to 
rejoin  the  Regiment.  It  seems  instructions  were, 
not  to  bring  on  an  engagement,  but  to  find  the 
enemy ;  this  we  accomplished,  and  we  reached  our 
bivouac  on  Cobb's  Hill  at  10  p.  M.  The  loss  to  the 
Twenty-fifth  was  four  killed  and  fifteen  wounded. 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  267 

This,  our  first  fight  in  Virginia,   is  known  as  Port 

1864. 
Walthal  Junction. 

May  /th,  at  8  A.  M.,  we  were  again  in  motion, 
marching  over  nearly  the  same  route  as  before,  and 
found  ourselves  near  the  place  of  yesterday's  en- 
gagement. On  the  ground  lay  our  dead,  which  for  Unburud 

dead. 

some  reason — I  know  not  why — had  been  left  on 
the  field  where  they  fell.  The  bodies  had  been 
stripped  of  their  clothing  ;  the  enemy  could  rob  the 
dead,  but  could  not  give  time  to  bury  them.  A  party 
was  now  detailed  to  perform  that  service.  Prisoners 
taken  here  said  the  robbery  was  the  niggers'  work 
— possible,  but  not  very  probable. 

We  found  the  enemy  strongly  posted,  and  our 
artillery  got  into  position  at  once,  with  the  infantry 
at  supporting  distance  laying  on  the  ground  in  a 
ploughed  field.     It  was  a  terribly  hot  day,  and  as     fidd 
the  hours  went  by  many  men  were  sun-struck.      In  Junction. 
Company  A  eight  men   suffered  from  the  intense 
heat,  three  of  whom  were  carried  from  the  field  and 
did  not  return  to  the  Company  for  several  days. 

Meanwhile  an  artillery  duel  was  going  on,  shot 
and  shell  flying  over  our  heads  as  we  lay  here.  It 
was  exciting  to  watch  the  enemy's  shot  as  they  ap- 
proached us — they  could  be  plainly  seen.  At  one 


268  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

time  the  Rebels  fired  chunks  of  iron  rails  at  us,  and 

1864. 

these  came  wabbling  along  through  the  air  causing 

a  deal  of  mirth  among  our  boys.     We  were  startled 

by  a  flash  of  light,  and  a  loud  explosion  :   a  well 

directed  shell  from  our  battery  had  penetrated   a 

Rebel  caisson,  causing  the  explosion.   It  was  said  that 

when  General  Heckman  saw  this  he  declared  that 

it  paid  him  for  the  loss  of  his  horse  the  day  before. 

On  our  right  we  could  see  General   Brooks's  di- 

Ma       vision  hotly  engaged  ;  with  loud  cheers  they  dashed 

Chester-  forward  to  fall  slowly  back.      Again  they  made  a 

charge,  and  from  the  artillery  we  heard  the  heaviest 

Junction.  &  * 

firing  of  the  day.  This  time  it  was  a  success ;  Brooks's 
men  drove  the  enemy,  and  they  withdrew  their  ar- 
tillery from  our  front,  and  all  was  quiet  in  our  vi- 
'cinity.  Brooks  had  destroyed  the  railroad,  taken 
many  prisoners,  and  a  victory  had  been  won.  About 
5  P.  M.  we  started  for  our  camp  on  Cobb's  Hill. 
This  engagement  was  known  as  "Chesterfield 
Junction." 

May  8th  we  began  to  fortify  Cobb's  Hill,  and  on 
the  Qth,  at  about  5  p.  M.,  we  left  our  camp,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  as  far  as  the  railroad  between 
Petersburg  and  Richmond  without  opposition.  We 
destroyed  the  railroad,  broke  the  telegraph  wires, 


2$th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  269 

and  pushed  on  towards  Petersburg.      We  encoun-   - 
tered  a  small  body  of  the  enemy,  and  drove  them 
across  Swift  Creek.      Our  skirmishers    were    now 
firing-  rapidly,  and  the  enemy  opened  on  us  with 
their  big  guns  ;   but  we  pushed    forward    through 
woods,  and  formed  in  line  of  battle  near  Arrowfield  May  9- 
Church.     The  right  of  the  Twenty-fifth  rested  on 


the  Petersburg  turnpike,  and  at  this  point  was  a  Church. 
section  of  our  artillery.  We  commenced  firing  at 
once,  as  is  customary  in  battle  —  that  is,  "at  will." 
The  boys  were  working  like  beavers,  evidently 
firing  to  some  purpose  ;  but  it  was  seen  that  the 
enemy  were  about  to  charge.  Colonel  Pickett  took 
in  the  situation,  and  while  we  were  doing  our  level 
best  we  received  the  order,  "Cease  firing,"  which 
was  promptly  obeyed.  The  men  finished  reloading 
their  rifles,  and  stood  waiting.  We  did  not  under- 
stand the  "why"  of  this  order,  but  we  soon  found 
out.  The  enemy  were  ready,  had  set  up  an  infernal 
yell,  and  were  coming  at  double-quick  ;  but  no  fur- 
ther order  came  to  us.  The  Rebels  were  fast  short- 
ening the  distance  between  their  line  and  ours,  and 
we  were  getting  anxious,  but  finally  hear  the  cau- 
tionary command,  "Steady,  men,  wait  for  the  word"; 
and  the  Twenty-fifth  Regiment  stood  as  steady  and 


2  70  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

silent  as  if  on  dress  parade.      On  came  the  yelling- 

1864.   ,  ..       .  ,. 

horde   until    within — it    seemed    to    us — not    over 

twenty-five  yards.  It  was  an  anxious  and  critical 
moment,  and  it  afforded  Colonel  Pickett  an  oppor- 
tunity to  see  of  what  stuff  his  regiment  was  made. 

May 9.  Suddenly  came  the  order:  "Twenty-fifth,  ready"; 
rld  and  like  clockwork  every  rifle  was  in  position ; 

Church.  "Aim,"  and  every  eye  was  glancing  along  a  rifle 
barrel ;  "  Fire,"  and  that  volley,  almost  like  a  single 
shot,  sent  death  and  dismay  into  that  Rebel 
host. 

The  effect  was  like  an  electric  shock.  The  long 
line  of  gray  was  thrown  into  the  wildest  disorder — 
shattered — broken  into  fragments.  Their  men  fell 
by  scores,  and  the  ground  was  literally  covered  with 
the  dead  and  wounded  of  that  Rebel  regiment.  So 
fierce  was  their  charge  that  several  of  their  men 
were  actually  forced  clear  into  our  line  and  were 
made  prisoners.  It  was  a  most  gallant  charge,  and 
it  met  with  a  terrible  and  bloody  repulse. 

It  was  in  vain  the  enemy  tried  to  form  for  another 
charge ;  we  kept  up  such  a  deadly  fire  that  it  was 
impossible.  They  fell  back  out  of  range,  and 
troubled  us  no  more.  Meantime  how  fared  it 
with  our  boys  ?  Nobly  they  stood  the  shock,  but 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  271 

they,  too,  had  fallen  by  scores.      Company  A  had   

1864. 
only  twenty-seven  men  in  line  at  this  fight,  and  of 

this  number  nine  were  wounded — just  one  third. 
Many  of  Company  A  were  on  detached  service, 
others  sick  in  hospital,  and  the  Company  was  smaller 
than  most  of  the  others  at  this  time. 

While  the  fight  was  going  on  the  smoke  from  the 
guns  settled  thick  around  us,  and  the  noise  was 
absolutely  deafening.  As  the  boys  fell  out  wounded 
they  were  taken  to  the  rear  and  the  line  closed  up, 
and  the  firing  went  on  as  steadily  as  ever.  How  Bravery 
bravely  the  boys  stood  up  to  it !  How  the  sweat  ur 

boys. 

rolled  off  their  faces  !  Lieutenant  Bessey  was  struck 
in  the  breast,  but  fortunately  the  wound  was  a  slight 
one.  He  called  for  a  pipe,  and  seating  himself  on  a 
stump,  cheered  on  the  boys  as -if  nothing  had  hap- 
pened,— no  white  feather  about  that  man. 

Amidst  all  the  horrors  of  the  situation — dead  and 
dying  all  around  us — an  "incident"  occurred  which 
shows  how  the  ludicrous  and  sad  are  sometimes 
strangely  blended.  There  was  in  the  Company  a 
new  recruit  named  James  Kerwin,  a  short,  good- 
natured  Irishman,  who,  while  the  fight  was  raging, 
was  struck  by  the  fragments  of  a  shell  and  both  legs 
wounded.  Jimmy  fell  to  the  ground  making  the 
35 


272  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

queerest  noises,  and  rolling  about  so  strangely  that 

it  was  absolutely  comical.      Sergeant  Burr  stepped 

up  to  him  and  said:    "Is  that  you,  Jimmy?     Are 

jimmy  you  hit?"     "Oh,"  said  Jimmy,  "oh  Sergeant  dear, 

Kerwin.  jt's  me  that's  hit,  and  both  ov  me  legs  is  shpilt  in- 

tirely."     This  was  too  much,  and  the  boys  laughed 

heartily ;  and  the  firing  went  on,  ceasing  only  when 

the  Rebels  were  out  of  reach,  and  all  was  quiet  in  our 

front. 

"The  fight  was  over,  and  with   Comrade  Arthur 

White  of  Company  H  (a  Leicester  boy  and  a  brave 

one),  I  strolled  over  the  field,  and  in  our  immediate 

vicinity — that  is,  directly  in  front  of  our  regimental 

line — we  counted  over  seventy  dead  and  wounded, 

Rebel    scattered  about,  and  in  little  heaps  of  three  or  four 

dead  and  together.    From  the  wounded  ones  we  learned  what 

'  troops  we  had  been  fighting ;  a/id   it  certainly  is  a 

remarkable  fact  that  the  Twenty-fifth  South  Carolina 

and  the  Twenty-fifth  Massachusetts  had  met  in  a 

fair  fight."     The  result  we  have  seen. 

It  might  be  thought  that  with  so  much  firing  more 
men  would  have  been  killed  and  wounded  in  our 
front ;  but  it  should  be  remembered  that  the  Twen- 
ty-fifth Regiment  of  1864  was  not  the  Twenty-fifth 
Regiment  of  1861.  It  left  Massachusetts  one 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  273 

thousand  strong-,  but  at  this  time    there    was    not   

1864. 
over  half  that  number  in  the  ranks.  The  regimental 

line  was  hardly  three  hundred  and  fifty  feet  long, 
and  it  was  in  front  of  this  line  that  so  many  Rebel 
dead  and  wounded  were  found. 

The  following  is  a  correct  list  of  the  wounded  of 
Company  A  at  this  battle  : 

Lieutenant  M.  B.  Bessey,     breast. 

Sergeant  T.  M.  Ward,     leg. 

Private  L.  J.  Prentiss,     groin  (very  severe.      He 

died  from  the  effects). 

Private  Augustus  Stone,  right  arm  (amputated).   Names 
Private  Charles  H.  Knowlton,     hand  (three  fin-  -wounded. 

gers  lost) . 

Private  Charles  A.  Mayers,     leg. 
Private  James  White,     leg. 
Private  James  Kerwin,     both  legs. 
Private  Nelson  Tiffany,     groin  (severe). 
Entire  loss  to  the  Twenty-fifth   Regiment,   sixty 
men. 

After  the  fight  parties  were  detailed  to  bury  the 
dead  as  usual.  Pits  were  dug  say  six  or  eight  feet 
square,  and  four  or  five  feet  deep,  in  which  the  dead 
were  placed  as  quickly  as  possible,  one  row  on 


2  74  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

another,  and  hurriedly  covered  with  earth — a  sicken- 
ing sight.  Yet  this  is  "Glorious  War." 

Night  coming  on  cold,,  we  prepared  for  a  cheerless 
bivouac  the  best  we  could.  We  lay  on  our  arms 
that  night — that  is,  with  rifles  by  our  sides  ready  to 
jump  into  line  at  a  minute's  notice.  In  the  morning 
we  were  relieved,  and  fell  back  to  our  camp  on 
Cobb's  Hill.  This  battle  took  place  near  the  old 
weather-beaten  building  known  as  Arrowfield 
Church,  from  which  the  battle  takes  its  name. 

On  the  1 2th  of  May  we  were  ordered  off  again  in 
Again  in  light  marching  order.  Many  boys  left  their  rubber 

motion. 

blankets  behind  ;  this  proved  a  mistake,  for  we  were 
gone  five  days,  every  one  of  them  cold  and  wet. 
The  rubber  blanket  should  always  go  with  the  sol- 
dier, and  the  woolen  one  too,  if  possible.  During 
these  cold,  wet  nights  we  suffered  a  great  deal.  We 
had  more  or  less  fighting  every  day. 

The  first  day  we  discovered    the    enemy   about 

noon,  and  drove  them  across   Proctor's  Creek,   and 

halted  for  the  night  in   the  edge  of  a  wood.      On 

this  day,  while  lying  on  the  ground  in  line,  Comrade 

Death  of  William  Holman  was  struck  by  a  bullet  intended,  no 

'  doubt,   for  a  mounted  officer  riding  in  our  front. 

This  was  the  only  bullet  that  reached  us  at  this  time ; 


2$th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  275 

and   if  \ve   had  been  standing  in  -the  same  place   

1864. 
probably  Holman  would  not  have  been  hit.      He 

moaned  pitifully,  was  taken  to  the  rear,  where  he 
soon  died,  and  we  saw  him  no  more. 

The  next  day  (May  i3th)  we  were  ordered  for- 
ward, and  entering  a  thick  wood,  the  Regiment 
marched  through  in  line,  the  skirmishers  encoun- 
tering the  enemy's  pickets  and  driving  them  to  their 
works  at  Drewry's  Bluff.  On  reaching  the  edge  of 
the  woods  we  were  in  sight  of  the  enemy's  en- 
trenchments, and  received  their  fire  at  once. 

We  were  ordered  to  lay  down,  and  for  hours  we 
had  shot  and  shell  flying  over  us.  Many  of  the 
boys  went  to  sleep  in  this  situation,  undisturbed  by 
the  noise  of  the  firing.  Once  a  shell  burst  directly 
over  our  line,  and  inquiry  was  made  if  anyone  was 
hit.  Some  raised  their  heads  and  looked  about,  but 
hearing  no  reply,  curled  down  again  ;  and  it  was  not 
known  until  some  time  after — certainly  more  than 
an  hour — that  Comrade  Henry  Goulding  was  killed.  eat  °* 

3  Goulding. 

A  portion  of  the  shell  had  struck  him  on  the  back 
between  the  shoulders,  killing  him  instantly.  He 
died  without  a  groan. 

Skirmishers  were  thrown  out,  and  succeeded  in 
keeping  the  enemy's  guns  pretty  quiet  for  two  days 


276  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

(oh  fatal  delay),   though   more  or  less  firing  was 

going  on  all  the  time.     We  had  changed  our  posi- 
tion, and  were  now  nearer  the  enemy's  works  than 

at  first,  behind  a  weak  line  of  breastworks  made  of 

• 

logs,  rails,  and  earth  thrown  up  with  bayonets  and 
tin  cups,  for  we  had  no  intrenching  tools. 

On  the  1 5th  our  brigade  held  the  right  of  the 
army,  and  the  regiments  were  in  line  in  this  order : 
extreme  right,  Ninth  New  Jersey  ;  then  followed  the 
Twenty-third,  Twenty-seventh,  and  Twenty-fifth 
Massachusetts.  The  space  between  the  Ninth  New 
Jersey  and  the  James  river  was  .occupied  by  a  few 
colored  cavalrymen.  During  the  night  of  the  I5th 
there  were  several  attempts  to  break  through  our 
line,  which  were  repulsed  every  time  with  severe 
loss  to  the  enemy.  Later  a  heavy  fog  settled  down 
over  the  whole  country  around,  so  dense  that  at  a 
distance  of  two  or  three  rods  nothing  could  be  seen. 
May  16.  Under  cover  of  this  fog,  about  4  o'clock  on  the 
j  morning-  of  the  i6th,  the  Rebels  made  an  attack  on 

Dreivry  s 

Bluff,  our  right,  and,  after  heavy  fighting,  succeeded  in 
crushing  the  Ninth  New  Jersey,  and  turning  our 
right ;  and  before  we  were  aware  of  it,  had  gained 
our  rear.  At  the  same  time  we  were  engaged  in 
front,  an  assault  being  made  along  our  whole  line. 


2^th  Regt.,  Mass,  Vols.  277 

In  this  horrid  gloom,  the  yells  of  the  advancing  

enemy,  the  musketry  firing,  and  the  roar  of  the  ar-  Ma   ^ 
tillery,  were  sounds  terrible  to  hear,  and  madly  ex-  Battle  of 
citing.      Soon   the   regiments    on    our    right   came    ^"7 
rolling  down  upon  us,   crushed  and  broken.      The 
Twenty-fifth    gallantly     repulsed     the     impetuous 
charges  of  the  Rebels  in   front,  and  unflinchingly 
held  their  position  alone  after  the  whole  line,  right 
and  left,  had  been  broken  and  swept  away  by  the 
overwhelming    force    of    the    enemy.       Lieutenant 
Daly,  in  command  of  the  right  flank,  Company  K, 
reported  the  perilous  condition  of  affairs    on    the  InPertl- 
right,  but  the  Colonel  replied  that  he  had  no  orders 
to  retire,  and  that  he  proposed  to  hold  on  at  all 
hazards.     He  directed  Daly  to  deploy  his  company 
to  the  rear  at  right  angles  with  our  line,  and  check 
the  flanking  force.     The  Rebels  advancing  in  large 
numbers,   immediately  overpowered    and    captured 
most  of  his  company. 

Company  A,  under  command  of  Lieutenant  Burr, 
was  now  ordered  to  the  rear  as  skirmishers,  to  check, 
if  possible,  the  tide  which  seemed  about  to  over- 
whelm us.  We  soon  saw  dimly  through  the  fog 
forms  of  men  moving  about,  and,  approaching 
nearer,  noticed  that  some  had  on  blue  coats  ;  and 


2  78  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

supposing  they  must  be  our  own  men,  one  of  Com- 

Ma   xg  pany  A  sung  out :  "What  regiment  are  you  ?"   "We 

Battle  of  are  Rebels,  damn  you  ;  take  that ! "  was  the  reply  ; 

ry's  and  the  whistling-  of  bullets  told  us  what  they  meant. 

tilujf.  • 

"Good  for  you,  Johnny ;  take  it  back  again,"  was 
the  retort  of  the  A  boys,  with  the  same  accompani- 
ment. But  of  what  use  was  it  ?  We  were  a  thin  line 
of  skirmishers,  and  it  was  plain  to  be  seen  that  there 
was  at  least  a  regiment  in  front  of  us.  We  soon, 
obeying  orders  received,  quickly  moved  off  by  the 
right  flank,  narrowly  escaping  capture. 

The  enemy  advanced  and  opened  fire  on  the 
Regiment  at  not  over  twenty  yards  distance.  This 
was  indeed  a  most  critical  moment.  Hotly  engaged 
with  the  enemy  in  front,  and  now  receiving  a  heavy 
fire  in  the  rear,  the  Regiment  was  simply  sur- 
rounded. There  was  a  single  chance  left.  Instantly 
we  were  faced  to  the  rear  and  ordered  to  charge  ; 
and  with  a  cheer  the  Regiment  rushed  upon  the 
A  charge  Rebel  line,  pouring  a  deadly  volley  into  their  ranks, 
7rand  throwing  them  into  such  disorder  that  before 
they  could  be  rallied  by  their  officers  our  Colonel 
had  given  the  order:  "By  the  right  flank;  and  we 
had  marched  around  the  enemy's  left  to  the  rear, 
ready  for  them  again  upon  anything  like  equal  terms. 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  279 

The  conduct  of  the  Twenty-fifth  at  the  Battle  of  

1864. 
Drewry's  Bluff  was  magnificent  and  beyond  all  words 

of  praise.  The  perilous  position  they  were  placed 
in  was  a  trying  test  of  their  courage  and  soldierly 
qualities ;  and  nothing  but  their  excellent  discipline 
and  prompt  obedience  to  orders  saved  the  entire 
Regiment  from  capture.  Cool  and  undaunted  they 
waited  for  orders,  and  they  received  them.  They 
had  unqualified*  confidence  in  their  commander, 
and  to  his  prompt  and  decisive  action  they  owe  their 
marvelous  and  brilliant  escape. 

But  Company  A  did  not  all  escape,  as  the  follow- 
ing list  will  show  :  Loss  in 

Corporal  Walter  H.  Richards,     killed. 

Private  John  A.  Coulter,     wounded. 

Private  Francis  Greenwood,     wounded. 

Corporal  Jerome  H.  Fuller,     captured. 

Private  Amos  E.  Stearns,     captured. 

Private  Charles  E.  Benson,     captured. 

Private  B.  C.  Green,     captured. 

Comrades  Goulding  and  Holman  had  been  killed 
two  days  before,  so,  all  told,  Company  A  lost  nine 
men  in  the  fight  at  Drewry's  Bluff. 

In  this  fight  we  lost  our  brigade  commander, 
•  36 


280  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

General  Heckman,  who  was  taken  prisoner.   Captain 

Belger,  with  a  portion  of  his  battery,  was  also 
captured.  Our  brigade  (ist)  had  lost,  since  we 
Heavy  loss  landed  at  Bermuda  Hundred  twelve  days  before, 
almost  eleven  hundred  men.  The  Twenty-fifth 
Regiment  in  the  same  time  lost  over  three  hundred 
men,  while  Company  A  lost  eighteen. 

General  Heckman,  and  Colonel  Lee  of  the  Twen- 
ty-seventh, both  being  captured,  the  command  of 
the  brigade  devolved  upon  Colonel  Pickett,  leaving 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Moulton  in  command  of  the 
Twenty-fifth.  Colonel  Pickett  rallied  the  brigade, 
forming  line  of  battle  half  a  mile  to  the  rear  of  the 
original  line  in  the  morning.  During  the  day  dif- 
ferent positions  were  occupied,  holding  the  enemy 
in  check.  About  5  P.  M.  we  fell  back  towards  our 
camp  at  Cobb's  Hill,  which  we  reached  at  10  o'clock. 
General  Stannard,  a  few  days  later,  assumed  com- 
mand of  the  brigade,  and  Colonel  Pickett  again  took 
charge  of  his  own  regiment. 

An  "incident"  occurred  during  the  fight  at  Drewry's 

An      Bluff  that  was   highly    amusing.       Private    Sidney 

incident.  Atkinson,  a  tall  Yankee  recruit,  during  the  struggle 

in  the  fog  was  taken  prisoner  by  a  squad  of  Rebels. 

.     He  had  been  in  the  habit  of  carrying,   attached  to 


Battle-field  of  Orewry's  Bluff 

MAY  r  . 


' 


Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  281 

his  belt,  a  small  hatchet ;  and  when  taken  prisoner  

almost  the  first  words  said  to  him  by  his  captors 
were  :  "Well,  Yank,  I  reckon  we'll  take  that  hatchet." 
Atkinson  replied  :  "  I  suppose  you  will,  Johnny," 
and  gave  it  up  at  once.  He  noticed  as  they  marched 
along  that  his  captors  had  lost  their  way  in  the  fog 
and  were  trying  to  find  their  men.  Atkinson  cooly 
said  :  "  Look  here,  Johnnies,  I  was  over  this  ground 
this  very  morning.  I  know  where  we  are  and  where 
your  men  are.  I'll  show  you  ;  come  on."  He  quietly 
led  off,  his  captors  as  quietly  following;  and  in  less  The  tables 
than  two  minutes  he  led  them  into  the  presence  of  turned- 
our  own  men.  The  Rebels  saw  the  joke  at  once, 
and  cursed  their  "damned  stupidity."  "Now, 
Johnny,"  said  Atkinson,  "I  guess  I'll  take  that 
hatchet";  and  he  did. 

The  following  extract  from  a  letter  of  Captain 
Emerson  Stone  of  Spencer  to  the  writer,  shows  that 
the  promise  made  by  the  prisoners  captured  by  us 
at  Roanoke  Island  in  1862,  to  make  return  for  our 
kindness  to  them  while  in  our  hands,  if  it  was  ever 
in  their  power,  was  not  forgotten : 


The  Story  of  Company  A. 

I  was  captured  May  i6th,  1864,  by  "Wise's  Brigade"  of  Vir- 

1864.  ginians,  the  same  men  who  surrendered  to  us  at  Roanoke  Island 
in  '62.  My  captor  was  a  tall,  fine-looking  man,  who  on  learning 
what  regiment  I  belonged  to,  at  once  declared  his  intention  of 
standing  by  me,  and  doing  for  me  all  that  was  in  his  power  to  alle- 
viate my  sufferings,  this  in  pursuance  of  a  resolve  formed,  as  he  said, 
by  their  entire  brigade  after  their  exchange  at  Roanoke,  to  treat  there- 
after every  Yankee  that  the  fortunes  of  war  might  throw  into  their 
hands  with  the  greatest  possible  kindness,  in  repayment  of  the 
courteous  treatment  which  they  received  at  our  hands  as  prisoners 
of  war.  Right  royally  did  he  fulfill  his  vow,  for  no  one  could  have 
Kindness  showed  greater  kindness  than  he  showed  to  me.  He  bound  up 
repaid,  and  stanched  my  wounds  at  first,  then  brought  water  to  refresh 
me,  placing  at  the  same  time  the  contents  of  his  haversack  at  my 
disposal ;  protected  me  from  the  covetous  desires  of  his  needy 
comrades,  who  sought  to  replenish  their  long  neglected  wardrobes 
at  my  expense  ;  and  in  every  way  seemed  anxious  to  show  his 
sympathy  and  willingness  to  help  me. 

Reaching  the  hospital  he  asked  the  surgeon  in  charge  to  look 
at  my  wounds,  and  secured  his  early  services,  as  well  as  a  special 
guard  detailed  to  care  for  me  and  look  after  all  my  wants  until  the 
surgeon  called  for  me.  Then  taking  from  his  shoulders  his  own 
blanket,  he  carefully  placed  it  under  me,  and  after  arranging  me 
as  comfortably  as  possible,  said  he  was  obliged  to  report  to  his 
command,  and  bade  me  a  feeling  good-bye.  I  have  often  re- 
gretted that  I  did  not  learn  the  name  of  this  whole-souled  man 
whose  large  heart  was  filled  with  humanity,  although  covered  with 
the  Rebel  "gray"  ;  and  I  would  to-day,  after  the  lapse  of  so  many 
years,  give  the  best  hundred  dollars  I  ever  saw  for  the  privilege  of 
grasping  him  by  the  hand. 

I  will  add  that  I  subsequently  received  the  same  kind  treatment 
from  the  surgeon  who  amputated  my  arm,  who  was  also  a  kind- 
hearted  man  ;  but  I  have  always  surmised  that  his  interest  in  me 
was  stimulated  by  the  words  or  efforts  of  my  kind  captor,  who  so 


Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  283 

faithfully  stood  by  me  —  an  enemy  —  in  my  hour  of  sore  distress.    - 
Do  not  wonder  that  I  have  a  kindly  feeling  for  Wise's  Brigade  of    1864. 
Virginians,  and  especially  for  my  unknown  generous  captor,  and 
that  I  often  breathe  for  him  a  prayer  for  heaven's  richest  blessings. 

General  Heckman  has  claimed,  in  a  letter  pub- 
lished in  a  Northern  paper,  that  the  Rebel  loss  in 
our  front  at  Drewry's  Bluff  was  estimated  at  over 


. 
four  thousand,    which    was    many    more    than   OUT  He 

brigade  numbered.  He  also  stated  that  the  mus- 
ketry firing  was  the  severest  he  ever  experienced. 
Our  prisoners  all  reported  the  slaughter  in  our  front 
as  something  terrible  and  unparalleled. 

For  some  days  the  troops  were  engaged  day  and 
night  in  strengthening  our  fortifications  at  Cobb's 
Hill.  Almost  daily  the  Rebels  made  an  attack  on 

On    the 

some  part  of  our  line,  but  were  easily  repulsed.  All  defensiv 
this  time  we  lay  on  our  arms  at  night,  and  were 
turned  out  at  two  or  three  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
ready  for  an  attack.  In  one  direction  from  our 
camp  was  a  beautiful  grove,  but  it  was  in  the  way 
of  our  guns.  Pioneers  were  sent  into  this  grove, 
and  in  forty-eight  hours  it  had  disappeared.  In 
forty-eight  hours  more  a  heavy  line  of  earthworks 
extended  over  the  spot,  and  cannon  looked  down 
into  the  valley  below.  These  works  reached  from 


284  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

the   James    river   to    the    Appomatox,   below   Port 
l64'  Walthal. 

This  work  continued  until  the  2;th  of  May,  when 
orders  were  received  to  move  again,  so  we  marched 
a  few  miles  and  bivouacked  for  the  night.  The  next 
day  we  moved  to  City  Point,  crossing  the  Ap- 
pomatox over  a  pontoon  bridge  ;  and  once  more 
going  on  board  transport  steamers,  were  soon  sail- 
ing down  the  James.  We  reached  the  York  river, 
and  passing  up  that  and  the  Pamunky,  arrived  at 
White  House  Landing  May  3Oth. 

The  weather  was  fine  as   we   sailed  down   that 

t 

A  delight-  beautiful  stream,  the  James;  and  the  entire  trip  to 
White  House  Landing  was  in  striking  contrast  to 
what  we  had  been  through  of  late.  The  York  river 
is  much  smaller  than  the  James,  but  still  a  noble 
stream,  while  the  Pamunky  is  so  crooked  that  a 
vessel  will  sail  towards  all  points  of  the  compass  in 
making  the  ascent. 

On  the  3ist  of  May  we   marched   all   day,   and 

about  midnight,  while  passing  through  an  extensive 

forest,  we  ran   on  to  the  pickets  of  Grant's  army. 

Army    He  had  been  fighting  his  way  through  the  Wilder- 

*'        ness,  and  we  had,  at  last,  joined  the  ARMY  OF  THE 

Potomac. 

POTOMAC. 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  285 

Our  march  from  the  White   House  was  through 

1864. 
a  good  country,  reminding  us  of  New  England.   By 

the  roadside  we  passed  grape  yines,  cedar,  shrubbery 
of  oak,  and  blackberry  bushes — much  like  the  coun- 
try roads  in  Massachusetts. 

June  ist  opened  as  fine  as  could  be  desired,  but 
by  the  middle  of  the  day  the  heat  was  intense,  and 
many  soldiers  were  completely  exhausted  by  the 
march.  For  many  miles  the  road,  which  was  heavy  Severe 

march. 

with  dust,  had  been  strewn  with  dead  horses  and 
mules,  and  the  stench  from  them  was  horrible. 
About  4  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  we  found  our- 
selves before  the  enemy's  intrenchments  at  Cold 
Harbor. 

June  2nd  our  brigade  was  under  fire  nearly  all 
day,  and  at  night  the  enemy  charged  our  lines,  but 
were  repulsed  with  a  heavy  loss.  Our  army  was  in 
line  at  this  time  in  the  following  order :  Ninth  Corps  Battle  of 
(Burnside)  on  the  right,  then  came  the  Fifth  Corps  Cold 
(Warren),  Eighteenth  Corps  (Smith),  Sixth  Corps 
(WTright),  and  on  the  extreme  left  the  Second 
Corps  (Hancock).  Sheridan  with  his  cavalry 
covered  our  left  at  the  Chickahominy  river,  while 
Wright's  cavalry  guarded  our  right.  The  line  of 
battle  at  Cold  Harbor  was  six  miles  long. 


286  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

Rations  and  ammunition  were  given  out,  and  we 
laid  on  the  ground  that  night  to  get  what  sleep  we* 
could,  for  "there  was  to  be  terrible  work  o.n  the 
morrow."  June  3d  was  a  black  day  in  the  calendar 
of  the  Twenty-fifth  Regiment. 

We  left  our  bivouac  in  the  early  morning,  moved 
a  short  distance,  and  laid  down  again  under  cover 
of  thin  woods.  We  had  caught  glimpses  of  the 
enemy's  earthworks,  and  saw  their  immense  strength. 
We  felt  that  it  would  be  almost  an  impossibility  to 
take  the  works  in  our  front.  We  knew  that  be- 
hind those  works  were  thousands  of  brave  men  with 
Beforethe rifles,  awaiting  our  approach;  and  we  knew  those 
intrenchments  were  lined  with  batteries.  We  knew 
it  meant  slaughter  for  us  to  make  the  attempt ;  and 
gloomy  forebodings  settled  down  over  the  whole 
regiment.  The  Twenty-fifth  at  this  time  had  only 
three  hundred  men  in  the  ranks,  and  the  whole 
brigade  of  four  regiments  numbered  scarcely  fifteen 
hundred  men. 

All  these  things  we  talked  over  as  we  laid  on  the 
ground  under  the  trees.  A  little  ravine  was  near, 
through  which  flowed  a  small  rivulet  —  a  mere 
thread  of  water ;  and  we  were  partially  protected  by 
a  slight  elevation  on  our  right.  We  calculated  the 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  287 

chances,  and  we  felt  that  they  were  terribly  against 
us  ;  but  to  "obey  orders"  is  a  soldier's  duty.     "Wait  _ 

'  f  June  3. 

for  a  time  to  die  ! "  Battle  of 

Cold 

We  were  in  close  column  by  division  at  this  time  Harbor 
— that  is,  a  front  of  two  companies  in  a  division — 
five  divisions.  We  heard  loud  cheering  on  our  left, 
and  artillery  firing  rapidly.  We  knew  our  boys 
were  making  an  assault  on  the  enemy's  line.  We 
could  only  guess  at  the  result.  An  officer  passed 
by  and  reported  Hancock  successful. 

"Forward!"  The  hour  had  come.  We  moved 
slowly  up  the  slight  elevation,  beyond  which  a 
thousand  deaths  awaited  us.  No  man  faltered, 
and  only  the  wounded  ones  fell  out ;  for  we  were 
under  fire  all  the  time  while  lying  under  the  trees. 
We  gained  the  front  and  were  obliged  to  oblique  to 
the  right  somewhat,  to  place  us  in  proper  position. 
We  were  at  once  under  a  murderous  fire.  The 
enemy's  works  were  directly  in  front.  Colonel 
Pickett  was  marching  at  the  head  of  the  Regiment, 
and  at  this  moment  waved  his  sword  over  his  head, 
and  shouted  his  orders:  "Come  on,  boys;  forward,  The 
double-quick.  CHARGE  !  "  We  dashed  forward  with  charge- 
a  cheer.  The  enemy's  earthworks  in  our  front, 
perhaps  twenty  rods  distant,  were  enveloped  in 
37 


288  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

smoke  and  flame,  and  volley  after  volley  of  mus- 
ketry sent  bullets  through  our  ranks  like  hail.      At 

June  3.  * 

Battle  of  fae.  same  moment  we  received  an  enfilading-  fire  of 
artillery  on  both  right  and  left  flanks. 

Harbor.  } 

The  slaughter  was  fearful.  Colonel  Pickett  went 
down  with  a  bad  wound  in  the  hip,  and  the  ground 
was  thickly  covered  with  the  dead  and  wounded — 
The  and  so  quickly  done.  The  enemy  kept  up  such  an 
result.  jncessant  fire  that  to  stand  up  against  it  and  live  was 
impossible.  So  to  escape  utter  annihilation  we 
dropped  to  the  ground  and  stubbornly  held  the 
position  we  were  in,  and — an  actual  fact — with 
tin  cups,  knives,  bayonets,  and  our  hands,  threw  up, 
painfully  and  slowly,  a  low  bank  of  earth,  which  in 
a  measure  protected  us  from  the  enemy's  fire  ;  and 
the  hours  dragged  slowly  along  until  dark,  when 
intrenching  tools  were  brought,  and  regular  earth- 
works were  made  and  rifle  pits  dug. 

Brigadier-General  P.  D.  Bowles  of  the  Confed- 
erate Army,  in  a  letter  printed  in  the  Philadelphia 
Weekly  Times  of  January  3 1 ,  1885,  describes  this 
charge  of  the  Twenty-fifth  as  he  saw  it  from  the 
Rebel  intrenchments.  His  account  is  as  follows: 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  289 

On  looking  over  the  works  I  discovered  what  I  supposed  to  be    

one  regiment,  with  a  single  flag,  and  an  officer  in  front  with  sword    1864. 
raised  high  in  the  air,  calling  on  his  men  to  charge.      I  ordered 
my  command  to  place  their  guns  on  the  works  and  wait  for  orders. 
When  the  advancing  line  reached  within  seventy  yards  I  ordered 
my  line  to  fire,  when  the  whole  of  the  Federal  regiment  fell  to  the 
ground  save  one  man,  who  ran  back  to  the  edge  of  the  woods  and    Confed- 
attempted  to  hide  behind  a  white  oak  tree,  but  was  completely     erate 
riddled  by  fifty  balls  in  less  time  than  it  takes  to  write  it.  testimony. 

The  heroic  regiment  that  made  this  gallant  charge  was  the 
Twenty-fifth  Massachusetts,  which  was  the  only  regiment  that 
obeyed  orders  to  advance.  This  we  learned  from  the  twenty  odd 
officers  and  men  who  fell  down  among  the  dead  and  wounded  at 
the  first  fire.  The  balance  of  the  brigade  had  refused  to. go  for- 
ward, and  not  since  the  charge  of  the  three  hundred  at  Balaklava 
has  a  more  heroic  act  been  performed. 

In  this  charge  of  the  36  of  June  the  Twenty-fifth 
Regiment  lost,  in  killed,  wounded  and  missing,  two 
hundred  and  twenty  men  out  of  three  hundred  and 
thirteen,  leaving  for  duty,  June  4th,  less  than  one 
hundred  men,  Company  A  losing  fifteen  out  of 
thirty.  All  this  happened  within  a  few  minutes  of 
time,  for  nearly  all  fell  during  the  charge. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  killed,  wounded  and 
missing  of  Company  A  : 

Killed  :     Private  F.  B.  Brock. 
' '        Ira  Lindsey. 

Sidney  J.  Atkinson   (he  of  the 
hatchet) . 


290  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

Wounded :     First  Lieut.  M.  B.  Bessey,  shoulder. 
1864. 

Second  Lieut.  Geo.  Burr,  head. 

First  Sergt.  S.  H.  Putnam,  slight. 
LOSS  at  Sergt.  Frank  Wright,  side. 

Corporal  G.  F.  Stearns,  hip. 

Harbor. 

L.  J.  Elwell,  shoulder. 
Private  L.  W.  Stone,  severe. 
"       A.  D.  Whitcomb,  head. 

J.  Madden,  groin. 

Missing  :     Corporal  Walter  S.  Bugbee. 
Private  H.  W.  Dryden. 
Charles  O'Neil. 

The  wound  of   Colonel   Pickett  was  a  very   se- 
vere one,    and  he  was  absent  from  his  command 
Colonel  ^or  several  months.     He  rejoined  the  Regiment  at 
Pickett.  New  Berne  in  November,  1864.     He  was  then  suf- 
fering severely  from  his  wound,  and  being  disabled 
from  further  duty  "Our  Captain"  left  the  service  in 
January,  1865,  with  the  rank  of  Brevet   Brigadier- 
General,    this  honor  having  been   conferred  upon 
him  for  gallant  and  meritorious  services  during  the 
war. 

The  4th  of  June  was  passed  quietly  behind  the 
works,  but  on  the   5th  there  was  righting  all  day 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  291 

long-.     At  this  time  the  stench  from  the  dead  bodies 

1864. 
between  the  opposing  lines  was  dreadful.      Parties 

were  sent  out  at  night,  and  in  the  darkness  and 
silence  tried  to  bring  in  the  wounded.  A  flag 
of  truce  had  been  sent  to  the  enemy  before  this, 
to  make  arrangements  to  bury  the  dead,  but  with 
no  success. 

On  the  yth  cannonading  was  kept  up,  all  day,  and 
men  were  killed  at  times,  half  a  mile  in  the  rear  of 
our  works.  A  second  time  a  flag  of  truce  was  sent, 
which  was  successful,  and  fatigue  parties  went  out 
from  both  sides,  and  the  dead  were  buried.  While 
this  was  going  on  there  was  no  firing  along  fog,  Burial  of 


lines,  and  the  stillness  that  ensued  seemed  very 
strange  to  us.  The  truce  was  only  for  two  hours, 
and  it  was  a  hurried  job,  this  burial  of  the  dead.  It 
was  a  singular  spectacle  as  we  mounted  on  top  of 
our  earthworks  and  looked  over  the  ground.  The 
Rebels  did  the  same  while  the  burial  of  the  dead 
went  on.  When  the  time  was  up  a  signal  gun  was 
fired,  and  the  detailed  parties  made  haste  back  to 
their  respective  places  ;  and  then  it  would  have  been 
death  to  show  a  head  above  either  line  of  works. 

The  8th  of  June  was  a  beautiful  day,  but  very  hot 
and  severe  for  the  boys  in  the  rifle  pits.     At  night 


292  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

the   military  bands   of  both   armies   played.       The 

1864. 

Union   bands   played   The  Star  Spangled   Banner, 

Red,  White  and  Blue,  and  Yankee  Doodle,  while 
the  Rebel  bands  gave  us  Dixie  and  The  Bonnie 
Blue  Flag. 

The  Qth,  loth  and  nth  of  June  passed  away 
without  actual  fighting,  but  a  constant  firing  was 
kept  up. 

The  Twenty-fifth  had  landed  at  Bermuda  Hun- 
dred on  the  5th  of  May  with  seven  hundred  splen- 
did veterans.  One  month's  fighting  in  the  rear  of 
Richmond  reduced  this  number  to  a  trifle  over  three 
hundred  ;  and  the  morning  after  the  Battle  of  Cold 
ear/u  j-jg^Qj.  (June  Ath)  there  were  only  one  hundred 

sacrifice.  w  ' 

men  fit  for  duty.  "The  gallant  six  hundred,"  where 
were  they?  Killed,  wounded,  in  hospital,  and  down 
in  Southern  prisons.  This  was  war  and  its  deplor- 
able results.  It  was  a  terrible  sacrifice,  but  it  was 
for  the  Union  and  the  flag,  and  our  country  was 
saved  by  the  blood  of  its  heroes. 

It  was  now  ebb  tide  with  the  Twenty-fifth  Regi- 
ment. Six  officers  and  less  than  one  hundred  men 
were  all  that  remained  for  duty.  This  shows  the 
wear  and  tear  of  regiments  and  brigades  in  active 


2$tk  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  293 

service — that  terrible  drain  of  men  going  on  con-   ~~ 

1864. 
stantly ,  and  which  all  the  recruits  could  not  replace. 

One  day,  at  Cold  Harbor,  Lieutenant  George  A. 
Johnson  of  Company  G,  formerly  Orderly  Sergeant 
of  Company  A  (Old  Posey),  was  wounded  in  the 
rear,  and  a  stretcher  was  called  to  take  him  away.  Another 
He  was  carried  slowly'  a  short  distance,  and  as  the  lncldent- 
bullets  were  flying  thickly  around,  he  became  un- 
easy, and  finally  jumped  off  and  made  a  straight 
line  for  the  rear,  saying :  "I  can't  wait  for  no 
damned  stretcher."  As  he  passed  along  on  his  way 
to  the  hospital  tent,  with  blood  streaming  from  his 
wound,  he  met  the  commanding  general,  who  said : 
"  Lieutenant,  don't  you  want  a  stretcher?"  "I've 
got  one  coming,"  was  the  reply.  "Are  you  badly 
wounded?"  "  Nothing  but  a  shot  in  the  rear!" 
said  Johnson  ;  "Guess  it  won't  amount  to  much  ! " 

It  would  hardly  be  fair  to  pass  by  the  "Dog  of 
the   Regiment"  without  some  notice.      When  the 
Regiment  left  Worcester  Company  A  had  two  pup- 
pies as  pets.      They  were  christened  Whiskey  and  Our  dog 
Brandy,  and  were  well  cared  for.      Brandy  was  a  Wfliskey- 
good  dog  and  died  young,  but  Whiskey,  on  the 
contrary,  continued  to  thrive,  going  out  with  the 
pioneers  at  New  Berne,  going  on  marches  with  the 


294  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

Regiment,  and  participating  in  nearly  all  the  battles 
1864. 

to  Cold  Harbor.  At  this  battle  the  dog  was  wounded 

by  a  rifle  ball,  and  found  his  way  to  the  hospital, 
where  the  ball  was  taken  out  and  given  to  the 
Orderly  Sergeant  of  Company  A.  Whiskey  was 
well  cared  for  at  the  hospital,  but  in  the  movement 
of  troops  after  the  fight  the  poor  dog  was  lost,  and 
we  never  saw  him  again. 

The  Company  A  boys  taken  prisoners  at  Cold 
Harbor  fell  into  the  hands  of  North  Carolina  troops, 
some  of  whom  were  among  those  captured  by  us  at 
Roanoke.  On  learning  what  regiment  our  boys 
belonged  to  these  men  treated  them  with  all  possible 
kindness,  and  nobly  redeemed  the  promise  made 
while  our  prisoners,  to  make  return  for  our  kindness 
to  them  if  they  ever  had  the  opportunity.* 

Sunday,  June  I2th,  passed  very  quietly,  with  no 
more  firing  than  usual.  Captain  Goodwin,  who 
had  returned  a  few  days  before,  was  now  in  com- 
works  mand  of  Company  A.  After  dark  the  boys  were 
called  in  from  the  rifle  pits,  and  we  quietly  evacuated 
our  works ;  and  marching  all  night,  reached  White 
House  Landing  about  5  o'clock  on  the  morning  of 
the  1 3th.  This  night  march  was  a  very  hard  one, 

*  See  page  90. 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  295 

and  on  reaching  the   Landing,  guns  were  stacked,   

1864. 
the  boys  dropped  to  the  ground,  and  many  were 

instantly  asleep.  Some  crawled  on  their  hands  and 
knees  to  the  river's  brink,  two  or  three  rods  away, 
and  drank  like  so  many  animals.  They  were  com- 
pletely exhausted. 

We  went  on  board  transports  again  and  steamed    Active 
down  the  crooked  Pamunky  and  the  York,  up  the     cam- 
James,  landing  at  9  p.  M.  of  June  i4th  near  our  Q\(\Pa*smng- 
camp.       Four  days'  rations  were  cooked,   and  on 
the  morning  of  the  i5th,  at  4  o'clock,  we  started  off 
on  a  march.     This  was  surely  active  campaigning. 

On  the  1 5th  we  encountered  the  enemy,  and  our 
regiment  having  the  right  of  the  brigade,   had  an 
open  corn  field  in  our  front.      We  marched  in  line  Enco1tn_ 
of  battle  to  within  perhaps  three  hundred  yards  of  ter  with 
a  Rebel  battery  situated  on  a  hill  to  our  left,  and' 
came    to   a   halt.      The   enemy   opened    on    us  at 
once  with  both  musketry  and  artillery.      They  had 
our  exact  range,  and  we  had  one  man  killed   and 
eighteen    wounded    in    a    few    minutes.       Captain 
Goodwin  was  wounded  by  a  shell  which  exploded  Captain 
very  near  his  head,  hitting  him  in  the  shoulder  and  Goodwin. 
in  the  face,  from  the  effects  of  which  he  lost  an  eye. 
This  shot  came  from  the  right,  and  not  from  the 
38 


296  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

battery  on  the  hill  at  the  left.    This  was  the  last  we 

1864. 

saw  of  Captain  Goodwin  in  Company  A.      He  was 

mustered  out  the  following  October  as  Brevet  Major. 
Captain  Parkhurst  moved  us  forward  at  double- 
quick  about  one  hundred  yards.  This  movement 
took  us  out  of  range  of  the  enemy's  guns,  and 
though  men  were  still  wounded  here,  it  doubtless 
saved  many  lives.  Lieutenant  Bessey  was  hit  once 

Bessey  s 

wounds,  more,  this  time  in  the  foot,  making  three  hits  for  him 
within  a  few  days.  Though  Dame  Fortune  scatters 
her  gifts  with  a  lavish  hand,  in  battle  she  distributes 
them  very  unequally.  Some  are  never  wounded, 
others  always  are.  Lieutenant  Bessey  was  hit  four 
times — yea,  a  fifth  time  was  he  touched  (which,  by 
the  way,  was  scarcely  mentioned  in  the  dispatches); 
yet  with  all  this,  and  added  to  it  the  old  army  saying  : 
"Three  times  and  out"  (death),  Bessey  served 
through  the  war,  and  preserved  that  good  nature 
for  which  he  was  noted.  Bessey  was  irrepressible. 
He  was  mustered  out  as  Brevet  Major  in  March, 
1865. 

We  were  ordered  to  lie  down,  and  all  day  long 
we  were  in  this  corn  field  under  a  scorching  sun, 
with  no  protection  save  what  we  obtained  by  pulling 
up  the  corn,  which  was  about  two  feet  high,  and 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  297 

covering  our  heads  with  it.  It  was  provoking  to 
lay  there  as  we  did,  hour  after  hour,  and  hardly  fire 
a  shot  in  reply  to  the  Rebels,  who  were  blazing 
away  at  us  all  the  time.  They  would  give  us  a  few 
shells,  then  a  solid  shot  would  come  roaring  along 
and  plough  up  the  dust  near  us,  then  •  the  rascals 
would  get  outside  their  works  and  fire  at  us  with 
their  rifles.  We  kept  the  enemy  busy  in  this  way 
while  our  troops  got  their  guns  into  position. 

About  sundown  we  heard  a  heavy  gun  fired  on 
our  left,  and  looking  at  the   Rebel  battery  saw   a 
shell  burst  directly  over  it.    Another  shot  was  fired, 
then  many  in  quick  succession,  and  shells  exploded    Battle 
thick  and  fast  in  that  battery.    The  whole  Regiment    near 

'  Peters- 

got  up  and  watched  with  intense  interest  the  move-  burg. 
ment  now  going  on.  Soon  a  long  line  of  Boys  in 
Blue  was  seen  moving  towards  the  battery.  The 
line  was  somewhat  broken  as  the  boys  made  their 
way  through  the  trees,  which  had  been  cut  down 
and  left  to  obstruct  the  way ;  but  they  passed 
through  them,  and  with  wild  cheers  swarmed  up  the 
hill  like  bees.  Shells  from  the  Union  guns  were 
dropping  into  the  battery  every  moment ;  the  Rebels 
attempted  to  reply,  but  it  was  of  no  use  ;  the  place 
was  too  hot  for  them.  Soon  the  Boys  in  Blue 


298  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

reached  the  enemy's  works,  and  over  they  went  on 

1864.  . 

one  side  while  the  Rebels  departed  over  the  other. 

Our  Regiment  cheered  enough  to  split  their  throats. 

Then  the  guns  of  the  battery  were  turned  on  the 

Battery  ^ymg  enemy,  and  the  fort  was  taken.     Down  went 

taken.    tne  Rebel  rag  and  up  went  Old  Glory.     Nine  guns 

and  two  hundred  prisoners  were  reported  as  the 

result  of  this  gallant  movement. 

A  little  later,  just  at  dark,  an  advance  was  made, 

and  Company  A  was  thrown  out  to  join  the  skirmish 

line  already  moving  on  our  left,  under  command  of 

We     the  Orderly  Sergeant,  S.    H.   Putnam,   all  three  of 

advance,  the  officers  having  been  wounded.  While  advancing 

at  double-quick,  solid  shot  from  some   Rebel  guns 

directly  in  front  came  over  the  line,  but  did  no  harm. 

A  battery  in  this  direction  had  made  some  trouble 

during  the  day — probably  Captain  Goodwin  was  hit 

by  a  shot  from  it. 

Still  advancing,  an  earthwork  was  seen  directly  in 
front ;  but  the  order  was  u  Forward  ! "  and  away  the 
boys  went  over  the  breastwork,  all  together,  fortu- 
nately finding  the  battery  deserted.  It  had  evidently 
been  vacated  but  a  few  minutes,  and  in  a  great 
hurry,  for  blankets,  clothing  and  equipments  were 
scattered  around,  and  a  supper  already  prepared 


2$th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  299 

was   left   untouched.      We   found   here   two    brass   - 

Napoleon  guns,  and  caissons  complete.     Word  was 

sent  by  Corporal  Jimmy  Green  to  Captain  Parkhurst,  CaPture 

of  the 

commanding  the   Regiment,  who  ordered   Captain 


Harrington  with  his  company  to  draw  the  guns  to  the 
rear,  which  was  done.  This  capture  was  represented 
in  the  papers  of  the  day  —  New  York  Tribune  and 
others  —  =as  having  been  achieved  by  Captain  Har- 
rington and  his  company,  when  really  the  guns  were 
taken  by  Company  A  under  command  of  a  non- 
commissioned officer.  The  Worcester  Spy  printed 
a  letter  giving  a  statement  as  above,  signed  by  one 
of  the  members  of  Company  A.  When  this  paper 
reached  the  camp  Captain  Harrington  accused  our 
Orderly  Sergeant  of  writing  the  letter,  and  claimed 
the  great  honor  of  having  captured  the  guns,  he,  as 
he  said,  being  a  commissioned  officer,  and  the 
skirmishers  being  under  command  of  a  non-com. 
The  officer  claimed  it  because  he  was  an  officer  ; 
we  claimed  it  because  we  did  it.  The  affair  was  of 
no  great  importance  anyway  ;  but  if  there  was  honor 
enough  for  an  officer  to  claim,  there  was  certainly  Of  it. 
enough  for  a  few  privates  ;  for  the  achievement  was 
theirs,  and  theirs  only.  So  much  for  the  taking  of 
these'  guns  ;  and  simple  justice  requires  that  to 


300  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

Company  A  should  be  given   the  credit  which  is, 

1864.  •   i      •       i 

most  certainly,  its  due. 

Before  June  1 6th  Company  A  numbered  one  sergeant, 
one  corporal,  and  eight  privates  fit  for  duty.  From 
this  time  the  Regiment  performed  duty  in  the  forti- 
fications then  being  constructed  before  Petersburg. 
On  the  1 6th  of  June,  strange  to  say,  the  Regi- 
ment was  quiet  all  day,  but  at  night  fell  into  line 
and  marched  several  hours  under  fire,  getting  back 
to  our  bivouac  at  midnight.  The  i  yth  was  another 
quiet  day ;  we  moved  about  two  miles,  still  under 
fire.  On  the  i8th  the  Regiment  was  posted  on  the 
banks  of  the  Appomatox  river,  directly  in  front  of 
the  Rebel  intrenchments.  Their  line  extended  for  a 
long  distance  at  nearly  right  angles  with  the  river. 
The  position  of  the  Regiment  was  a  peculiar  one. 
The  bank  of  the  river  was  forty  or  fifty  feet  above 
the  water,  and  quite  steep  ;  and  we  were  on  this 
bank,  entirely  hidden  from  the  Rebel  works.  The 
level  ground  above  could  be  entirely  swept  by  the 
Another  enemy's  guns.  A  charge  was  ordered,  and  in  at- 
temptmg  to  obey,  the  Regiment  was  obliged  to  get 
upon  this  ground,  and  the  left  was  forced  to  swing 
around  to  the  right  to  bring  the  whole  line  par- 
allel to  the  enemy's  works.  When  the  order  was 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  301 

given  this  was  attempted,  but  hardly  had  the  men 

1864. 
reached  the  level  ground  above  when  a  line  of  men 

arose  from  behind  the    enemy's   breastworks    and Dlsasier- 
poured  in  such  a  volley,  that  in  an  instant  our  line 
was  cut  down  like  grass,  and  the  ground  was  covered 
with  wounded  men. 

The  enemy's  fire  was  incessant,  and  nothing  hu- 
man could  stand  against  it,  so  we  fell  back  to  our 
first  position  on  the  river  bank.  This  attempt  to 
charge  the  enemy's  works  resulted  in  a  loss  to  the 
Regiment  of  six  killed,  and  one  officer  (Captain 
Tucker)  and  twelve  men  wounded.  Private  Delany 
of  Company  A  was  killed,  and  E.  B.  Fairbanks  and 
one  other  wounded. 

On  the  i  Qth  we  were  relieved  by  the  Sixth  Corps 
and  started  for  Bermuda  Hundred,  bivouacked  one 
nipfht,  and  reached  our  destination  at  10  A.  M.  of  the 

Useless 

2oth.  We  rested  one  day  and  one  night,  and  then  march. 
marched  back  to  our  old  intrenchments.  We  were 
now  in  the  trenches  before  Petersburg,  being  alter- 
nately two  days  on  duty  and  two  days  in  the  camp 
at  the  rear.  The  Regiment  had  but  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  men,  including  five  officers.  Com- 
panies A,  C  and  K  were  now  consolidated. 


302  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

The  camp   spoken   of  was   situated   in   a   ravine 
1864. 

about  half  a  mile  from  the  works,  and  although  at 

this  distance,  it  was  commanded  by  the  enemy's 
guns.  A  small  stream  of  water  ran  through  this 
ravine,  which  afforded  the  boys  the  luxury  of  a  bath. 
At  this  time  Company  A  numbered  twenty-six 
men  and  no  officers.  Soldiers  were  returning  to 
the  Company  from  time  to  time,  so  the  number 
varied  daily. 

This  kind  of  life  was  wearing  to  the  men,  firing 
going  on  constantly,  night  and  day.  On  the  3Oth 
of  June,  in  the  afternoon,  we,  commenced  shelling 
the  enemy,  and  about  5  p.  M.  they  replied.  For  an 
hour  we  had  the  heaviest  cannonading  we  had  ever 
experienced,  and  yet  the  Regiment,  being  behind  the 
earthworks,  had  only  five  men  wounded,  and,  sin- 
gular as  it  may  seem,  all  these  by  a  single  shot. 
These  men  were  grouped  together,  and  the  shot 
Effect  of  struck  right  in  the  midst  of  them  ;  one  man  had  his 
one  shot,  foot  taken  off,  another  had  a  leg  broken,  a  third 
was  hit  in  the  head,  a  fourth  had  both  legs  mangled, 
and  the  fifth  received  a  slight  contusion  on  his  side. 
The  ball  could  not  be  found.  The  men  were  taken 
to  the  hospital,  and  in  amputating  the  leg  of  one  of 
them — Private  Thayer  of  Company  D — the  ball  was 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  303 

actually  discovered  in  his  thigh,  and  proved  to  be 
a  three  pound  shell. 

July  4th,  Lieutenant  John  W.  Davis  of  Company 
C,  wishing  to  have  a  moment's  conversation  with 
the  Orderly  Sergeant  of  Company  A,  advanced  for 
that  purpose  in  a  stooping  position  to  avoid  the 
observation  of  the  enemy.  After  having  passed  a 
few  words  of  greeting,  he  unconsciously  raised  him- 
self.  It  was  but  for  a  moment,  yet  on  the  instant  a  Davis 
bullet  struck  him  in  the  left  shoulder,  passing  clean  wounded- 
through  his  body,  and  lodged  in  the  ground  some 
rods  to  the  rear.  He  placed  his  hand  to  his  shoulder 
and  exclaimed  :  "Sergeant,  I'm  a  dead  man,"  and 
fell  to  the  ground.  A  stretcher  was  called  and  he 
was  taken  to  the  hospital  tent.  Lieutenant  Davis 
survived  this  wound  two  years.  He  was  a  citizen 
of  Worcester,  and  was  for  some  time  connected  with 
the  police  force.  He  died  August  2d,  1866,  much 
regretted  by  those  whose  good  fortune  it  was  to  be 
acquainted  with  him. 

While  in  another  portion  of  the  trenches  nearer 
the  enemy's  line,  a  soldier  was  one  day  fatally  shot 
in  the  head,  and  for  a  while  our  men  were  puzzled 
to  know  where  the  shot  came  from.  Finally  a  sol- 
dier seated  himself  in  the  exact  spot  the  wounded 
39 


304  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

man  occupied  when  he  was  struck,  and  he   noticed 

1864. 

a  large  pine  tree  in  the  enemy's  works.      Watching 

he  saw  a  puff  of  smoke  come  from  the  top  of  the 
tree,  followed  by  the  report  of  a  rifle,  so  he  con- 
cluded that  a  Rebel  sharpshooter  was  concealed 
there.  Several  of  our  sharpshooters  were  called, 
and  at  a  given  signal  all  fired  into  the  tree  ;  a  man 
was  seen  to  fall  from  its  branches,  and  we  were 
troubled  no  more  by  shots  from  that  quarter. 

Some  talk  there  was  of  "Explosive  Bullets,"  but 

Explosive^-  do  not  remember  seeing  one  while  in  the  service. 

bullets.   A  member  of  Company  A  found  near  Williamsburg 

(I  think)  a  bullet  about  three  inches  long,  having 

three  blades  which  were  intended  to  spread  open  as 

the  bullet  left  the  gun.     It  was  a  barbarous-looking 

affair,  but  this  was  the  only  one  we  ever  saw. 

Bullet-proof  vests  were  talked  about  to  some  ex- 
tent.    These  consisted  of  two  thin  pieces  of  steel 
made  to  fit  the  body,  which  were  to  be  worn  one  on 
either  side  and  the  cloth  vest  buttoned  over  them, 
Bullet-  as  we  were  told.     I  never  knew  of  any  being  used 
Pr°°f    jn  this  wav    and  I  never  saw  but  one.     In  this  in- 

vests. 

stance  a  soldier  was  cooking  his  "sublime  flapjacks" 
in  one  of  the  sections.  Truly,  everything  is  of 
some  use. 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  305 

It  has  been  estimated  the  entire  length  of  the   

1864. 
line  of  earthworks  around  Petersburg  was  over  one 

hundred  miles.  These  works  included  thirty-six 
forts  (some  with  bastions),  and  over  fifty  batteries. 
The  main  line  consisted  chiefly  of  solid  banks  of 
earth,  high  enough  to  shield  the  men  as  they  stood 
behind  them,  and  too  thick  to  be  easily  battered 
down  with  cannon.  Forts  and  batteries  were  built 
along  the  line  at  convenient  distances,  and  on  rising 
ground  when  possible.  Some  of  the  forts  before 
Petersburg  were  very  large,  and  were  furnished 
with  bomb  proofs.  These  were  usually  constructed 

J  around 

of  logs,  six  or  eight  feet  high,  and  both  top  and   Peters- 
sides  were  so  covered  with  earth  as  to  be  impene-     burg' 
trable  by  shot  or  shell.      The   bomb   proof  at  Fort 
Wadsworth  was  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  long  and 
twelve  feet  wide.      Some  of  these  forts  were  fine 
specimens  of  military  workmanship  ;    for  instance, 
Forts  Fisher,  Wadsworth  and  Sedgwick.    Men  with 
bold,  brave   hearts   were    required    to    attack    and 
defend  such  places,  but  it  was  continually   being 
done  before  Petersburg. 

At  Fort  Stedman  the  distance  between  the  Union 
and  Rebel  lines  was  scarcely  six  hundred  feet. 
Between  these  were  two  picket  lines — Union  and 


306  The  Story  of  Company  A, 

Rebel — two  hundred  feet  apart.     The  men  in  these 

1864. 

picket  lines  were  in  rifle  pits,  each  of  which  con- 
tained two  or  three  men  ;  and  night  and  day,  in  sun 
and  rain,  heat  and  cold,  the  men  passed  the  weary 
hours  in  never- tiring  vigilance,  knowing  that  upon 
them  might  depend  the  fate  of  an  army.  The  only 
protection  for  the  men  in  the  rifle  pits  was  the 
small  mound  of  loose  earth  thrown  up  in  front  of 
each,  behind  which  they  must  keep  entirely  con- 
cealed. 

siege  of      From  the  Appomatox  river  to  Fort  Sedgwick,  a 

Peters-   d^ance  of  perhaps  four  miles,  firing  was  kept  up, 

burg. 

day  and  night,  for  months  ;  and  it  was  here  that  the 
Twenty-fifth  Regiment  was  posted  all  the  time  it 
was  in  the  trenches.  Forts  Sedgwick  and  Stedman 
were  known  among  the  soldiers  as  particularly  "hot 
places."  The  former  received  the  name  of  "Fort 
Hell";  and  its  opposite  in  the  Rebel  works — Fort 
Mahone — was  called  "  Fort  Damnation." 

Probably  there  was  more  firing  at  the  above 
mentioned  forts  than  at  any  other  place  in  the  whole 
line.  The  battles  around  Petersburg  may  well  be 
called  the  Waterloo  of  America,  compared  with 
which  the  Belgian  Waterloo  sinks  into  insignificance. 
The  assault  on  Petersburg,  June  i5th,  resulted  in 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  307 

a  loss  to  the  Union  troops  of  over  ten  thousand   

1864. 
men.     The  actual  siege  of  Petersburg  began  June 

1 9th,  1864,  and  the  place  was  not  captured  until 
April  3d,  1865 — a  period  of  nearly  ten  months. 

The  summer  of  1864  was  very  dry,  and  there  was 
much  sickness  among  the  troops,   dysentery  being 
the  prevailing  disease.      We   suffered    more    from  Disease 
heat  this  summer  than  ever  before.     There  was  no 
great  variety  in  our  rations  while   in  the  trenches ; 
for  instance,  we  had  coffee  and  hard-tack  for  break-  ^ations- 
fast,  boiled  pork  and  hard-tack  for  dinner,   coffee 
and  hard-tack  for  supper.      This  diet  month  after 
month,  together  with  the  extremely  hot  weather, 
probably  caused  most  of  the  sickness.    We  received 

.    .  r  10-  Sanitary 

at  one   time   provisions   from   the    Sanitary    Com-     Com, 
mission,  consisting  of  vegetables,   pickles,  canned  mission. 
fruit,  condensed  milk,  etc.      These  things  were  a 
perfect  godsend  to  the  soldiers  ;  and  although  the 
quantity,  when  divided  among  a  regiment,  was  a 
small  allowance  to  each  man,  still  it  did  a  great  deal 
of  good,  and  was  thankfully  received. 

A  short  distance  from  our  camp,  on  a  slight  ele- 
vation, our  people  had  planted  a  big  gun,  which 
was  fired  every  fifteen  minutes,  night  and  day,  and 
sent  a  shell  weighing  one  hundred  pounds  into 


308  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

Petersburg  every  time.      This  gun  was  called  the 

"  Petersburg  Express,"  and  for  some  time  was  fired 
with  great  regularity. 

While  in  the  trenches  the  practice  of  exchanging 
newspapers  with  the  enemy  was  started.*  This  was 
usually  done  in  the  morning,  and  in  the  following 
manner.  One  of  our  men  would  make  known  to 
the  enemy  that  he  wanted  to  exchange  a  paper  by 
shouting:  "Hello,  Johnny."  "Hello,  Yank,"  was 
the  reply.  "Got  any  tobacco?"  "Yes;  got  any 
Exchange  papers  ?"  "  Yes  ;  all  right,  Johnny,  let's  change." 
of  papers.  Qur  man  would  then  wave  a  paper  upon  a  ramrod 
until  it  was  seen  by  the  enemy,  and  they  would  wave 
one  over  their  works  in  the  same  manner.  Word 
was  sent  along  the  lines  at  the  same  time  that  no 
shots  were  to  be  fired.  Our  man  would  boldly 
raise  himself  head  and  shoulders  above  the  works, 
and  the  enemy  would  do  the  same  ;  both  would  then 
jump  over  the  works  and  advance  until  they  met  half 
way  between  the  lines.  Here  they  would  shake 
hands,  exchange  papers  or  coffee  and  tobacco,  say 

*  In  this  exchange  business  the  Johnnies  usually  wanted  papers,  coffee,  and 
gum  blankets,  while  the  Yankees  wanted  papers  and  tobacco.  We  often  got 
through  this  source  news  of  battles  fought  before  we  heard  of  them  from 
home.  Frequently  pieces  that  would  give  important  information  were  cut 
out  by  both  parties  before  the  papers  were  exchanged. 


2$tk  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  309 

a  few  friendly  words,  and  then  return  to  their  re-   

1864. 
spective  lines.    I  never  knew  a  shot  fired  from  either 

side  while  this  was  going  on.  An  instant  after  it 
would  have  been  death  if  either  had  showed  his 
head  above  the  works. 

July  22d  Company  A  was  reduced  to  its  lowest 
number,  and  at  this  time   might   be   said   to   have      The 
ceased  to  exist  as  an  organization.      One  sergeant,  Company 
one  corporal,  and  three  privates — five  men  all  told, 
and  not  an  officer  left.     For  a  time  roll  calls  were 
dispensed   with,   as   there    were    none    to    answer. 
Poor  old  Company  A  ! 

Up  to  this  time  there  had  been  little  or  no  rain, 
but  we  now  had  a  heavy  storm,  and  we  got  the  full  A  storm' 
benefit  of  it,  as  the  pits  and  trenches  were  filled  with 
mud  and  water.      The  boys  were  obliged  to  stay 
there  night  and  day,  and  sleep  as  best  they  could. 

The  Regiment  at  this  time  was  under  command 
of  Captain  Parkhurst,  and  had  dwindled  down  to 
four  small  companies,  with  five  officers  and  less  than 
one  hundred  guns. 

During  July  the  firing  on  each  side  was  much  less 
than  when  we  first  occupied  the  fortifications.  It 
seemed  as  if  both  parties  had  become  tired  of  the 
co-nstant  shooting  at  one  another,  and  sometimes 


3  io  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

days  would  pass  with  scarcely  any  firing.  The  time 
dragged  slowly  away,  and  the  monotony  of  the 
thing  was  hardly  endurable. 

At  dark  on  the  2Qth  of  July  we  were  relieved 
from  the  trenches,  and  at  midnight,  with  sixty 
rounds  of  ammunition  and  three  days'  rations,  we 
marched  to  the  left  a  couple  of  miles,  and  reached 
the  position  occupied  by  the  Ninth  Corps.  Here 
we  lay  on  the  ground  until  about  5  A.  M.,  when  a 
dull,  heavy  report  startled  us  ;  this  was  accompanied 
July  30.  by  a  shaking  of  the  ground,  and  at  the  same  instant 
artiHery  all  along  the  line  began  to  play  upon 


explosion. 

the  enemy's  works.  The  first  report  was  the  blow- 
ing up  of  a  Rebel  fort  which  had  been  undermined 
by  our  troops.  This  fort  contained,  as  was  reported, 
a  regiment  of  Rebel  infantry  and  sixteen  guns. 
The  Forty-eighth  Pennsylvania  regiment,  under 
command  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Pleasants,  origina- 
ted and  executed  the  plan  of  mining  and  blowing  up 
the  Rebel  battery.  The  work  was  commenced  June 
25th,  and  completed  in  about  a  month.  The  dis- 
tance was  over  five  hundred  feet.  On  the  27th  of 
July  the  powder  was  placed  in  the  mine,  the  whole 
charge  consisting  of  three  hundred  and  twenty  kegs 
of  twenty-five  pounds  each  —  in  all,  eight  thousand 


2$th  Regt. ,  Mass.  Vols.  3 1  i 

pounds.     The  train  was  fired  on  the  3Oth  of  July,   

1864. 
about  5  A.  M.    It  was  a  terrible  success.    The  crater 

made  by  the  explosion  was  about  two  hundred  and 
fifty  feet  long,  fifty  feet  wide,  and  twenty-five  feet 
deep. 

Although  we  stood  ready  for  action  we  were  not 
in  position  to  see  the  full  effect  of  the  explosion,  but 
those  who'  did,  say  it  was  a  terrible  sight — men, 
guns,  timbers  and  earth  going  heavenward  together. 
After  a  tedious  delay  the  Ninth  Corps  charged,  and 

After  the 

carried  a  portion  of  the  enemy's  works,  penetrating  expiosion. 
beyond  the  second  line  of  intrenchments  ;  but  owing 
to  some  unaccountable  misunderstanding,  troops 
were  not  ordered  to  their  support.  The  Rebels 
rallied,  our  boys  were  driven  back,  and  it  ended  in 
the  enemy  regaining  all  the  ground  they  had  lost, 
including  the  blown-up  fort. 

We  left  the  scene  of  the  explosion  about  noon  of 
the  3oth,  and  went  again  into  the  trenches,  but  not 
where  we  were  previously.  In  our  new  situation 
the  lines  were  very  near  together,  and  a  sap  had 
been  run  from  our  works  and  a  short  line  established 
to  within  fifty  or  sixty  feet  of  the  Rebel  lines.  On 
looking  through  our  loop  holes  we  frequently  saw 
the  Rebels  looking  at  us  through  theirs ;  and  a  rifle 
40 


312  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

barrel  would  often  be  introduced  into  these  aper- 

1864.  .      . 

tures  m  the  endeavor  to  obtain  a  shot. 

August  ist  an  arrangement  was  made  under  flag 
of  truce,  and  parties  were  sent  out  to  bury  the  dead 
Truce  for  from  both  colored  and  white  regiments;  the  black 
buying  tne  black,  the  white  burying  the  white. 
This  truce  lasted  from  6  to  1 1  A.  M. 

In  our  immediate  front  the  enemy  displayed  a 
white  flag,  and  a  truce  took  place  between  our  regi- 
ment and  the  troops  of  the  enemy  directly  opposed 
to  us.  This  was  done  because  the  lines  were  so 
near  together  that  both  parties  feared  to  show  them- 
selves under  the  general  truce.  Each  party  in  the 
meanwhile  mounted  their  respective  breastworks, 
and  cooly  sat  gazing  upon  the  other  and  talking 
like  old  friends.  The  distance  was  so  short  that 
small  shells  with  fuse  lighted  had  been  thrown  from 
one  line  to  the  other,  after  the  manner  of  hand 
grenades. 

A  good  deal  of  fun  passed  between  us  and  the 
Johnnies,  and  some  twitting  upon  facts.  One  Union 
boy  asked  a  Rebel :  "  How  did  you  like  that  style 
of  going  to  heaven,  Johnny?"  referring  to  the  ex- 
plosion. "We  rather  gave  you  hell  that  time,  didn't 
we?"  said  another.  But  the  talk  for  the  most  part 


2$th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  313 

was  good  natured ;  and  the  burial  of  the  dead  went  

on.  This  was  dreadful  business ;  the  bodies  had 
lain  upon  the  ground  since  the  day  of  the  explosion, 
and  had  been  exposed  to  the  hot  sun  during  the 
day  and  to  the  dampness  at  night,  so  that  their  con- 
dition was  horrible.  Pits  were  dug  and  the  bodies 
thrown  in  any  way.  When  the  work  was  completed 
a  signal  gun  was  fired,  and  the  troops  hurried  back 
to  their  respective  intrenchments. 

The  Twenty-fifth  Regiment  was  relieved  by  the 
Twenty-third  Massachusetts  on  the  fifth  of  August, 
and  we  had  fallen  back  to  our  old  camp,  when,  about 
6  P.  M.,  we  were  startled  by  a  sudden  explosion 
followed  by  volleys  of  musketry,  while  our  batteries 
opened  fire.  We  quickly  fell  into  line  and  marched 
to  the  scene  of  the  trouble,  and  found  that  the 
enemy  had  attempted  to  mine  that  portion  of  the 
works  we  had  just  left.  We  had  expected  this,  for 
we  had  heard  the  Rebels  at  work  digging  for  some 
time  previously.  They  must  have  miscalculated 
the  distance,  for  the  explosion  took  place  just 
outside  of  our  line,  and  consequently  did  no  harm, 
with  the  exception  of  overthrowing  a  few  gabions 
and  burying  for  a  few  minutes  some  half  a  dozen  of 
our  men.  The  plucky  Twenty-third  held  the  line. 


3 1 4  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

Several  men  were  wounded  by  the   Rebel  earns 
1864. 

which  commenced  firing  as  soon  as  the  explosion 

occurred,  and  Colonel  Stedman,  who  commanded 
our  brigade,  was  killed.  At  this  time  troops  had 
been  taken  from  our  line  and  sent  elsewhere,  and 
the  duty  was  now  more  severe  than  ever,  as  we 
were  in  the  trenches  four  successive  days,  with  only 
two  of  relief. 

A  few  days  after  this  explosion  we  occupied  an- 
other position  in  the  intrenchments  where  the  lines 
were  about  two  hundred  feet  apart,  and  between 
them  for  a  long  distance  was  a  great  field  of  corn. 
When  the  fortifications  were  built  this  corn  was  some 
two  feet  high,  while  at  this  time  it  was  six  feet  in 
r  height,  and  fairly  concealed  the  Rebel  works  from 

Green  &  J 

corn,  our  view.  One  dark  night,  after  the  moon  had  gone 
down,  men  were  sent  over  the  breastworks  to  cut 
down  this  corn,  which  was  quickly  and  quietly  ac- 
complished as  far  as  could  be  done,  and  the  next 
day  the  boys  were  feasting  on  the  green  ears. 

One  night  a  big  fire  was  seen  in  Petersburg.  We 
could  hear  the  bells  ring  and  the  engines  whistle, 
while  our  big  gun,  "The  Petersburg  Express,"  sent 
its  regular  messages  into  that  afflicted  city. 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  315 

While  lying-  in  the  trenches  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort   

1864. 
Stedman,  a  large  gun  in  the  enemy's  line  had  caused 

us  a  great  deal  of  trouble.  One  day  a  large  mortar 
was  put  in  position  and  trained  upon  this  gun.  The 
soldiers  crowded  around  to  witness  the  effect  of  the 
first  shell.  In  a  few  minutes  it  was  fired,  and  its 
course  was  watched  with  a  great  deal  of  interest ;  it 
was  seen  to  strike  outside  the  enemy's  works  and 
harmlessly  explode.  A  second  shell  was  fired. 
Higher  and  higher  it  ascended  and  soon  began 
falling  in  a  graceful  curve  in  the  exact  range  of  the 

i-  T  r  11     •       •  i          i  *      A  Rebel 

big  gun.  it  was  seen  to  tall  inside  the  enemy  s 
works,  and  an  instant  later  exploded ;  a  cloud  of  silenced. 
dust  was  thrown  high  in  the  air,vin  which  could  be 
seen  the  form  of  a  man,  pieces  of  timber,  etc.  This 
shell  had  done  its  work,  and  the  Rebel  gun  was 
dismounted. 

One  day  we  had  an  exceedingly  heavy  rain,  and 
the  little  stream  which  ran  through  the  ravine  where 
we  camped  suddenly  overflowed  its  banks,  and 

A  torrent. 

rushed  along,  a  perfect  torrent,  filling  the  whole 
ravine  with  water.  So  suddenly  did  this  take  place 
that  some  sick  soldiers  lying  in  their  tents  were 
near  being  drowned.  Large  army  wagons  were 
carried  down  the  stream  for  some  distance,  which 


3 1 6  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

shows  the  strength  of  the  torrent.    The  waters  sub- 

1864.     .  . 

sided  as  quickly  as  they  had  risen  ;   no  lives  were 

lost  and  little  damage  was  done. 

At  this  time  the  Regiment  was  receiving  recruits 
from  Massachusetts,  and  such  god-forsaken  speci- 
mens as  some  of  them  were,   it  would  be  hard  to 
match.     It  seemed  as  if  the  good,  patriotic  people 
of  Worcester  had  robbed  hospitals  to  find  substitutes 
to  fill  their  quota.     There  were  old,  broken-down 
men,  very  young  boys  ;  and  one  or  more  were  idiotic 
Tough   and  one  was  afflicted  with  epilepsy.      Several  were 
recruits.  SQ  ]ame  ^^  t^ey  had  to  carry  canes,  and  taken 

altogether  they  were  the  toughest  lot  of  recruits  the 
Regiment  had  received.  These  men  had  taken 
their  bounties,  and  one  of  them  actually  received 
more  money  ($1200)  than  any  individual  of  the 
original  members  did  for  three  years'  service.  The 
majority  of  these  recruits  were  returned  as  being 
unfit  for  duty,  but  the  persons  for  whom  they  were 
enrolled  as  substitutes,  and  by  whom  they  were 
paid  for  this  non-service,  effectually  escaped  thereby 
their  liability  to  the  draft. 

August  27th  found  the  Regiment  in  camp  near 
Cobb's  Hill,  where  it  had  been  sent  for  a  much 
needed,  often  promised,  and  well  earned  rest.  If 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  317 

we   reckon   the   time   from  April   26th,    when    the 

1864. 

Regiment  was  assigned  to  Heckman's  Brigade,  un- 
til this  date,  August  2/th,  we  have  four  months, 
during  which  we  were  constantly  on  duty  and 
actually  under  fire.  This  camp  was  a  comfortable 

'  A  rest. 

one,  and  it  was  a  treat  to  be  able  to  walk  about 
without  fear  of  being  shot.  The  lines  at  this  point 
were  a  quarter  of  a  mile  apart,  and  the  Union  and 
Rebel  pickets  were  on  very  friendly  terms,  ex- 
changing papers  and  conversing  with  each  other 
daily.  The  Rebel  pickets  even  saluted  our  officers 
when  they  chanced  to  see  them. 

About  September  ist  orders  were  received  for 
the  Regiment  to  start  for  North  Carolina,  so  we 
sailed  down  the  James  again,  to  Portsmouth,  where  ^ 
we  obtained  our  knapsacks  left  there  four  months  Carolina. 
before.  On  September  6th  we  went  on  board  the 
steamer  Wenonak,  and  proceeded  on  our  way,  but 
a  thick  fog  came  on,  and  we  anchored  for  the  night 
near  the  village  of  Hampton.  A  heavy  gale  blow- 
ing outside  detained  us  for  a  time,  but  at  length  we 
sailed  from  Hampton  Roads,  and  after  a  fair  pas- 
sage around  Cape  Hatteras,  arrived  at  New  Berne 
on  the  loth. 


3  !  8  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

Our  camp  was  pitched  on  the  bank  of  the  Trent 
1864. 

river,  opposite  the  town  and  near  the  railroad  bridge 

which  was  destroyed  when  New  Berne  was  cap- 
New  tured.  Most  of  the  companies  were  sent  out  on 
Beme  picket  duty.  It  was  amusing  to  observe  the  boys 

again. 

as  they  wandered  around  the  camp,  careless  and 
happy, — no  firing  here,  no  being  shot  at ;  and  the 
time  of  service  was  drawing  to  a  close  for  the 
"Used-to-bes." 

At  this  time  a  strange  disease  broke  out  in  New 
Berne  which  proved  generally  fatal.  This  was  at 
last  pronounced  to  be  yellow  fever,  and  it  continued 

Yellow 

fever,  to  increase  in  virulence  until  it  became  epidemic. 
The  people  died  in  such  numbers  that  it  was  almost 
impossible  to  bury  them.  Thirteen  hundred  died 
in  six  weeks.  Comrade  George  F.  Penniman  died 
September  i8th,  and  Comrade  Reuben  H.  DeLuce 
on  the  2Oth,  both  of  yellow  fever.  These  men  had 
been  detailed  from  our  company,  and  had  remained 
on  duty  in  New  Berne  ever  since  its  capture,  es- 
caping all  the  hardships  of  the  campaign  to  die  as 
time  drew  near  for  them  to  be  discharged  from  ser- 
vice. During  the  prevalence  of  this  disease  in  New 
Berne  many  sad  cases  came  to  our  knowledge  ;  in 
one  instance  a  house  was  broken  open  by  the  police 


25th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  319 

and  a  whole  family  found  dead  ;  yet  many  of  the   

1864. 
sick  recovered.     The  disease  was  accounted  for  by 

the  filthy  condition  of  the  town. 

We  visited  our  old  home.  Camp  Oliver,  and  found 
the  ground  covered  with  negro  shanties.  One  or 
two  old  cook  houses  were  the  only  signs  remaining 
of  the  occupation  of  the  place  by  the  Twenty-fifth. 

On  the  5th  of  October  those  of  the  Regiment  who 
had  not  re-enlisted — fifteen  officers  and  two  hundred 
and  forty-eight  men — bade  their  comrades  "Good- 
bye," and,  under  command  of  Captain  Denny,  took 

the  cars  for  Morehead  City.      We  were  bound  for 

Home- 
home  now,  and  not  for  the  battle  field.      At  More-    ward 

head  City  we  went  on  board  the  steamer,  Dudley  bound- 
Buck,  and  putting  out  to  sea,  doubled  Cape  Hat- 
teras  once  more  (the  sixth  time  for  some  of  us), 
reaching  Fortress  Monroe  at  10  A.  M.  of  October  yth. 
On  account  of  coming  from  a  port  infected  with 
yellow  fever  we  anchored  at  the  quarantine  ground. 
After  some  delay  here,  we  were  allowed  to  proceed 
to  New  York,  where  we  arrived  on  Sunday,  the  Qth. 
While  on  the  passage  from  North  Carolina  two 
men  (not  of  the  25th)  had  died  of  yellow  fever,  an/1 
were  buried  at  sea.  We  were  held  in  quarantine  until 
Wednesday,  the  i2th,  when  we  passed  up  to  the 
41 


320  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

city  and  disembarked.    That  afternoon  the  Regiment 

1864. 

took  passage  on  one  of  the  Norwich  line  of  boats 

for  New  London,  reaching  that  place  sometime  after 
midnight.  Here  a  delay  was  proposed,  as  our 
Worcester  friends  wished  to  give  us  a  public  re- 
ception on  our  arrival ;  but  the  boys  were  impatient 
to  see  home,  and,  taking  the  regular  train,  we 
reached  our  journey's  end  at  4  A.  M.  of  October  i3th. 
What  a  contrast  to  that  October  day  of  three 
years  before.  Then  it  was  a  bright  and  beautiful 
day,  with  thousands  to  bid  us  good-bye  ;  now  it  was 
„  *'  a  cold  and  cheerless  morning,  and  (not  being  ex- 
pected at  that  early  hour)  none  to  give  us  welcome. 
But  it  was  soon  noised  abroad,  and  the  City  Hall 
was  filled  with  people  eager  to  get  a  sight  of  the 
soldiers.  Among  the  first  to  greet  us  was  "Our 
Old  Captain,"  Colonel  Pickett,  still  suffering  from 
his  wound  of  June  3d  at  Cold  Harbor ;  and  lame  as 
he  was,  he  had  walked  to  the  City  Hall  to  bid  his 
old  comrades  welcome — and  what  a  greeting  was 
that !  After  a  collation  provided  by  the  City,  we 
were  addressed  by  the  Mayor,  Hon.  D.  Waldo 
.  Lincoln,  Colonel  William  S.  Lincoln  (of  the  34th), 
and  Colonel  Pickett.  We  were  then  dismissed  to 
meet  again  October  2oth  for  final  muster-out. 


2$th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  321 

On  our  departure  from  New  Berne  those  of  the   

1864. 
Regiment  who  had  re-enlisted — three  hundred  and 

sixty  men — were  consolidated  into  four  companies, 
with  ten  officers.  They  did  picket  and  guard  duty 
around  New  Berne,  and  participated  in  an  expedi- 
tion to  Kinston  and  a  brilliant  engagement  near 
Wise's  Forks,  N.  C.  This  portion  of  the  Regiment 
was  mustered  out  July  2ist,  1865 — after  the  close 
of  the  war. 

On  the  2oth  of  October,  1864,  the  Company  met 
again  in  Worcester,  and,  in  front  of  the  Old  City 
Hall,  were  mustered  out  of  the  service  of  the 

Oct.  20. 

United  States.     The  original  Company  A,  Twenty-  Muster. 
fifth   Regiment  Massachusetts  Volunteers  was    no     out- 
more.     Our  full  term  of  service — three  years — had 
expired — long  years  they  had  been  to  us  ;  and  with 
the  proud  satisfaction  that  duty  to  our  country  had 
been  "well  done,"  we  found  ourselves  again  private 
citizens. 

With  hand-shaking,  tearful  eyes,  and  every  ex- 
pression of  good  will  and  farewell  toward  each  other, 
the  members  of  the  Company  separated,  never  to 
meet  again  ;  never  again  to  rally  under  the  starry 
splendors  of  "  Old  Glory"  ;  never  again  to  participate 
in  the  wild  excitement  of  the  charge,  or  with  quick 


322  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

eye  and  elastic  step  find  place  in  the  skirmish  line  ; 

but  henceforth  to  the  end  to  lead  the  quiet  life  of 
peaceful  citizens. 

Company  A  Association  was  formed  some  years 
later,  and  annual  reunions  have  been  regularly  held  ; 
but  the  men  who  were  mustered  out  on  that  2oth  of 
October,  1864,  never  all  met  again,  for — 

"Some  are  dead,  and  some  are  gone, 
And  some  are  scattered  and  alone." 

One  by  one  they  disappear — drifting  away  like 
withered  leaves,  on  the  uncertain  tide  of  later  years. 

At  present  writing  about  thirty  members  of  the 
Company  Association  come  together  at  the  annual 
meetings. 


And  now,  kind,  indulgent  comrades,  farewell. 
The  story  is  ended.  Would  it  were  better  told,  but 
"what  is  written,  is  written." 

If  any  shall  find  pleasure  in  following  through 
these  pages — the  wanderings  of  this  band  of  men, 
this  company  of  soldiers  ;  shall  glory  with  them  in 
their  victories,  and  sympathize  with  them  in  their 


2 5th  Regt.,  Mass.  Vols.  323 

losses  and  reverses ;   if  any  comrade  shall  call  up   

pleasant  memories  of  his  soldier  life  by  the  perusal 
of  this  simple  narrative — then,  possibly,  this  story 
has  not  been  told  in  vain. 

Again,  farewell, 

SAMUEL  H.  PUTNAM, 

Late  Orderly  Sergeant,  Company  A,  and  Sergeant  Major,   25th 
Regiment,  Mass.  Vols. 

Worcester,  Mass.,  April  30,  1886. 


THE  DEAD  OF  COMPANY  A. 

%*  Names  of  those  who  died  in  the  Service. 

GEORGE  E.  CURTIS,  died  at  Hatteras  Inlet,  N.  C.,  Jan.  21,  1862. 
ELI  PIKE,  killed  at  New  Berne,  March  15,  1862. 
Lucius  F.  KINGMAN,  died  at  New  Berne,  Sept.  24,  1862. 
EDWIN  D.  WATERS,  died  at  New  Berne,  Nov.  5,  1862. 
JOHN  B.  SAVAGE,  died  a  prisoner  at  Richmond,  March  i,  1864. 
WILLIAM  E.  HOLMAN,  killed  at  Proctor's  Creek,  May  12,  1864. 
HENRY  GOULDING,  killed  at  Drewry's  Bluff,  May  14,  1864. 
LYMAN  J.  PRENTISS,  died  of  wounds  at  Hampton  Hospital,  May 

16,  1864. 

WALTER  H.  RICHARDS,  died  of  wounds  at  Richmond,  May  18,  '64. 
FRANCIS  B.  BROCK,  killed  at  Cold  Harbor,  June  3,  1864. 


324  The  Story  of  Company  A. 

IRA  LINDSEY,  killed  at  Cold  Harbor,  June  3,  1864. 

SIDNEY  J.  ATKINSON,  killed  at  Cold  Harbor,  June  3,  1864. 

LIBERTY  W.  STONE,  died  of  wounds  at  Milford,  Mass.,  July  5,  '64. 

JOSEPH  L.  DELANEY,  killed  at  Petersburg,  June  8,  1864. 

JAMES  WHITE,  died  of  wounds  in  New  York  harbor,  June  23,  1864. 

ABEL  S.  ANGELL,  died  June  28,  1864. 

BENJAMIN  C.  GREENE,  shot  by  Rebel  guard  while  sitting  on  a  win- 
dow sill  at  Libby  Prison ;  died  of  the  wound,  Sept.  1 1,  '64. 

GEORGE  F.  PENNIMAN,  died  of  yellow  fever  at  New  Berne,  Sept. 
18,  1864. 

REUBEN  H.  DfiLucE,  died  of  yellow  fever  at  New  Berne,  Sept.  20, 
1864. 

JEROME  H.  FULLER,  died  a  prisoner  at  Florence,  S.  C.,  Oct.  26,  '64. 

JOHN  A.  THOMPSON,  died  at  New  Berne,  1864. 

JAMES  M.  HERVEY,  died  in  New  Berne,  1864. 


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